Dear Diary
by gamergirllive
Summary: Searching for comfort after the battle against Nyx, he found her diary in her room. These are the thoughts and feelings that he read. I've called the Female Protagonist Haruhi in this story. A collection of days from P3P. R/R please! Spoiler Alert!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3/FES/P3P. Not even the main character that I've named 'Haruhi Fujisawa.' Credit goes to the rightful owner.**

**Author's Note: Welcome to my first Persona 3 fanfiction! At the beginning of each chapter, I'll be leaving links to suggested musical tracks that find aid the mood of the story. I've seen this done In a few other stories I've read and I've enjoyed this immensely, as if often gives a good atmosphere to the chapters. The listening to the music is completely optional, and if you choose to do so, you need only copy and paste the link into another tab of your browser.**

**Here is the suggested piece of music for the prologue: ****www . youtube . com/watch?v=gsVTQ7duOwc**

_.~*~._

_.~* I've been having… these weird dreams lately… *~._

_.~* Like… Is any of this for real… or not? *~._

_.~*~._

The sun poured in through the window, lighting up the small bedroom with golden hues. He stood in the doorway, glancing around at the now lifeless room- no matter what colors the sun wished to paint.

The bed was still neatly made, as if she'd only gone to school, intending to return that evening. He bit his lower lip with a scowl, feeling the hot sting of tears in his angry eyes and crossed over to it. With a hissed curse word, he sat down upon the soft, plush comforter. He stayed there for a long time in a silence only broken by his jagged, unsteady breaths through gritted teeth.

As he raised his head to rub his eyes and straighten his cap, his gaze fell upon her desk. He caught sight of a red canvas book and stood, crossing to the desk to get a better look- her diary? He tentatively lifted the cover, knowing it was wrong to invade someone else's private thoughts, but he wanted- no. He needed to read them. Needed to feel her presence. Needed to see evidence of her existence.

The first page was blank, save for her name:

Haruhi Fujisawa.

His fingers brushed against the ink in the center of the page, feeling his throat tighten and the familiar sting return in his eyes as he did so. He lifted the book from the desk and carried it with him to the bed where he sank back into the softness of the pink checkered comforter, and, with a sharp, staggering intake of breath…

He turned the first page and began to read…


	2. April 7th, 2009

**Author's Note: I don't know about many of you, but I bought Persona P3P in hopes that Junpei would be one of the social links you could date. Oh well… that's what fanfiction is for! Enjoy the first chapter! Make sure to leave a review! I don't bite.  
**

**Music Suggestion: ****www . youtube . com/watch?v=5HX3U9veCO4**

.~*~.

**April 7th**

_Dear Diary,_

_ Last night I had a strange dream. I somehow feel it connected to the events that happened on the way to the dorm. I cannot remember much of it, but I remember a dark room, with a strange man seated behind a table with a velvet tablecloth._

_ I'm more or less all moved in now, and today was my first day at my new school._

_Takeba-san showed me around and I met some interesting people…_

_.~*~.  
_

_

* * *

.~*~.  
_

Haruhi awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her door.

"Fujisawa-san, It's Yukari! Are you awake?

With a muffled groan, she rolled out of bed and staggered the door. She opened it to find a fully dressed and primped Yukari Takeba, wearing a slightly amused smile.

"Good morning… did you sleep okay?"

She did not. She'd had a strange dream about a man with a long nose… and found it troubling for some reason that she couldn't put her finger on. She didn't have much time for further musings on the subject however, before Yukari interrupted her train of thought.

"Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school…" She paused and addressed her tentatively, "…Are… you ready to go?"

School… _School!_ Haruhi's eyes widened, snapping out of her thick, early morning trance and began racing around the room in a panic, still clad in her plaid, pink flannel pajamas.

"Omigosh! I'm going to be late for my first day of school!"

Yukari watched for a few moments before bursting into laughter.

"It's okay, you know! We've got time! Let me… let you get ready…"

As Yukari stepped backward out of the room, closing the door behind her, Haruhi's face turned beet red. What a perfect idiot.

'Oh well.' She thought with a sigh as she retrieved her school uniform from her wardrobe, 'I guess it's fair enough. Maybe if I keep my promise not to tell anyone about what happened last night when I got here… she'll forget that just happened.'

Several minutes passed, and soon the bedroom door opened to reveal Haruhi, neatly dressed in her uniform and ready for school. Yukari gave her a warm, friendly smile.

"Are you ready?"

Haruhi replied with a bright, shy smile and a crisp nod.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Aboard the monorail 'Anehazuru,' Yukari chattered happily and informatively about the city and school. As Haruhi glanced up out the window, her smile grew with a small gasp.

"Cool, huh?" Yukari grinned, stepping closer to the window as well, "This is my favorite part… when it feels like you're gliding over the sea."

The monorail sailed over a stretch of track that was suspended over the bay, soaring towards the man-made island, 'Tatsumi Port Island.' In the middle of it all stood a building, tall and proud.

"That's it, isn't it, Takeba-san?" Haruhi asked, pointing at the building.

Yukari responded with a nod.

"Yup, That's it. Welcome to Gekkoukan High! I know you're gonna love it."

The two girls arrived at Port Island Station and set off to walk the rest of the way to school. Upon their arrival, Yukari was greeted by several other students. She seemed to be pretty popular…

As they finally entered the school after swimming though the groups of student stopping Yukari on the way, she was approached by a few more students who seemed to be her friends. After introducing Haruhi to them and then instructing her where the bulletin board and the faculty office was, Yukari turned back to her with a smile,

"You're okay from here, right?"

Haruhi nodded shyly with a smile, getting that Yukari wanted to go and talk with her friends.

"Yeah… I'll be fine…"

After Yukari left with her friends, Haruhi pushed tentatively through the crowd of students to get to the bulletin board to search for her name. To her horror upon first inspection, her name seemed to be missing. She stood there dumbly for a few moments, panic etched across her face before she heard a chuckle coming from beside her. With a snap, her head turned sharply to the left and up to glance at the person that the sound had come from.

The most distinguishing factor about the boy whom she was now staring up at, besides the fact that he left his uniform jacket unbuttoned, was the baseball cap he was wearing upon his head. She briefly wondered if baseball caps weren't against school uniform policies after all before his voice broke her train of thoughts again.

"Haha, you look like a deer in headlights." He flashed her a toothy grin as he chuckled again.

Feeling automatically defensive, she scowled up at him, her face growing hot.

"What do you want?"

Her tone earned another chuckle and as he tilted his head to the side and smirked down at her,

"Me? Oh, I just heard about the brand new, spicy rumor around these halls that there's a cute new girl in school who came to school with Yukari today." She glowered up at him as his gaze traveled up to the bulletin board, his smile never faltering. "Ah, here you go. Haruhi Fujisawa."

He pointed to a small note attached to the bulletin board.

"See? They just added you up there today. You're in Class 2-F. Same as me."

Haruhi glanced up at him as he grinned back down at her. She paused, regarding him carefully before finally answering.

"Uh…. Thank you, ah…"

He paused momentarily before catching on,

"Oh. I'm Junpei Iori. I transferred here when I was in the eighth grade, so I know how tough it is, bein' the new kid." He leaned forward with a toothy grin and began lightly ruffling her hair, much to her irritation. "_So… _I thought I'd check up on you. Y'know, make sure you weren't freaking out on your first day? Now aren't you glad I came along to help you out?"

She began batting his hand away with one hand as she shielded her hair with the other, scowling up at him with angry red eyes, which only earned her yet another chuckle.

"Oh yes, ecstatic."

"At it _again_, huh?" A familiar voice made them both turn around. The crowd around the bulletin board wasn't as thick anymore, and Yukari seemed to have returned from visiting with her friends. She stood, folding her arms over her chest with a stern glare in Junpei's direction.

"Honestly… is there any girl you _wouldn't_ hit on? Did you ever think you might be _bothering_ someone?"

As Yukari pulled Haruhi away from him, Junpei gave an innocent shrug,

"What? I was just bein' friendly!"

Yukari's eyes narrowed at him as she turned, urging Haruhi forcefully away by the shoulders, leading her towards a separate hallway.

"Yeah, if you say so…" With a sigh, she turned her attention back to Haruhi after they were well out of Junpei's earshot. "Anyway… shouldn't you be heading to the faculty office? You need to check in with your homeroom teacher before the opening ceremony."

"Uhm… no. I got caught up trying to find my name on the bulletin board."

"Well, you'd better hurry. People are already starting to head over to the auditorium."

With a final push from Yukari, Haruhi was now standing in front of the Faculty Office. After waving goodbye to Yukari, she slid open the door and entered the nearly empty room. Only a young woman in a brown suit stood there, holding a clipboard. As she stepped into the office, the woman turned to greet her.

"Ah! Are you the new student?"

Haruhi nodded tentatively.

"I see. Perfect! I've been waiting for you. My name is Ms. Toriumi, your homeroom teacher." She gave her a warm, welcoming smile before continuing. "I'd like to sit and chat with you a bit, but we've got to get to the opening ceremony. If you'll follow me, I can give you the extra details of what class you're in, where it is and so-forth."

Haruhi nodded again as Ms. Toriumi exited the office, following in her wake.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Seated in the auditorium, Haruhi listened to the Principle's speech drag on and on. As he continued to drone, she couldn't help hearing excited whispers around her.

"Did you hear about the new transfer student?"

Haruhi slouched in her seat slightly.

"Yeah… she came to school with Yukari today, huh?"

She slid slightly lower in her seat, glancing around nervously. No one seemed to be looking at her.

"I heard she was pretty cute too!"

"Yeah, well if she was walking to school with Yukari today, you'd have as much a chance with the new girl as you'd have of dating Yukari herself.

Haruhi's face turned beet red as she slid even lower in her seat, wanting nothing more than to disappear.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

After the morning ceremonies were finished, the student body filed out of the auditorium and into their respective classrooms to begin their day. Once classes were over, Yukari, who happened to also be in Haruhi's homeroom, turned around in her seat to smile back at her.

"Pretty cool that we're in the same homeroom, huh?"

"Yeah," Haruhi sighed in relief. "I'm glad to have someone I know in class. It's been so hectic!"

"Um, _hello_? Did you forget that I'm in this class too?" Junpei's shining voice caused both girls to turn and glance in his direction. "C'mon, ladies! Lemme in on the fun!"

Before Yukari could open her mouth, he approached them with a grin that was slowly becoming his trademark. "So, Yukari… do you guys know each other? I heard you came to school together this morning. A couple of cuties like you, walking side by side…" He waved his arms as if conjuring an image, "The whole class was buzzing about you."

"Don't remind me…" Haruhi sank in her seat, her chin on her desk and her hands covering her head, as if it would deflect any attention drawn to her. Picking up on the obvious body language, Yukari rose from her seat so that she was eye level with Junpei.

"Ugh, could you just cut it out? I _hate_ dealing with rumors like that. It's bad enough that _I _have to deal with it, but she just _got_ here! Don't you feel even a little bad for spreading rumors like that?" With a frustrated sigh, she glanced up at the clock and gave an apologetic look to Haruhi. "Well… I've got to go and take care of some things for Archery club… which reminds me. There are some openings in some of the other sports clubs. Maybe you oughta check them out sometime."

She gave her a friendly smile as she picked up her schoolbag and started walking towards the door, pausing to turn and jab a finger in Junpei's direction.

"Don't try anything funny, you got that, Junpei?"

As Yukari left, Haruhi felt as if her only friend in the world had betrayed her. 'Takeba-san…! Don't leave me alone with him!' She stretched out her hand, pathetically, almost comically in the direction where Yukari had disappeared.

Junpei groaned, glancing at the spot where Yukari had left as well.

"Augh, come _on_! What is she, your nanny?" He turned his head to look back at Haruhi who was still stretching her arm out in a desperate attempt to summon Yukari back with her sheer will. With a chuckle, he scratched the back of his neck as he grinned down at her,

"Hey now, I'm not so bad. Here, lemme make it up to you. I'll walk you home."

"What?" She squeaked.

"Aw, c'mon. I won't bite." He laughed. "'Nothing funny,' remember?"

She regarded him carefully with a stern scowl before gathering her books into her schoolbag and rising from her seat.

"Alright." She sighed. "Let's go."

"Heh, sweet."

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

They left through the front doors, Haruhi walking in a calm collected manner, Junpei hopping onto the nearest short stone wall to balance, walking alongside her. Students lounging outside the school or passing by on their way home muttered, glancing at Haruhi and pointing. It was obvious that the rumors about her hadn't died down yet. Junpei's voice broke her from her thoughts as his wavering arms reached his back pockets, no longer needing them to balance on the wall.

"So, Haru-chan! How'd you like your first day at Gekkoukan?"

She sighed, lowering her head slightly, deciding to ignore the nickname.

"I really wish people would stop pointing at me… I don't really like it."

He merely chuckled in response.

"Aw, they're just getting in on the gossip that there's a cute new student, that's all. It's not like they're saying anything bad, or anything."

She threw him a contemptuous look,

"That doesn't make it any better."

Junpei smirked and leapt off the wall, landing in front of her to cause her to come to a stop.

"Hey…" His voice, yet still energetic, was slightly more gentle. "The rumors will die down in a few days- you'll see."

She blinked up at him, raising a careful eyebrow as he leaned forward with an almost kind smile.

"And hey- if you ever have a problem, you can tell your ol' pal Junpei about it."

She felt her face grow slightly hot, her gaze twitching away and back again, though looking slightly over his shoulder.

"…I… Uh…" She glanced up at him carefully again, "I'll remember that."

His smile broadened into a big toothy grin,

"Cool."

He brought a hand up and ruffled her hair again, causing her to squawk, enraged. Junpei left the school grounds cackling, Haruhi chasing him down while swinging her schoolbag after him.

.~*~.


	3. April 21st, 2009

**Author's Note: Welcome to Chapter Two! The length of the chapters is going to vary, I've found already, so this one's slightly longer. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Luckily I had this chapter done ahead of time... I had my Tonsils and Adenoids out last Monday and it has NOT been much of a fun week. Special thanks goes out to AmbieBambie85! You review really cheered me up the day after my surgery! Thank you so much!**

**Music Suggestions: Velvet Room: www . youtube . com/watch?v=lkh-ZehNibg**

**Most of the rest: www . youtube . com/watch?v=yDEQMPM6gd0**

.~*~.

**April 21th**

_Dear Diary,_

_ It's been awhile… a lot has happened. I finally understand my dreams, but I fear for writing the meanings down in case someone finds this and thinks me mad. I woke up in the hospital the other day and Takeba-san explained what these strange occurrences are and why they must fight them… why I must fight them. I wonder what use I can be to them._

_ It was nice being back at school. Even stupid Junpei's funny face was a warm welcome for me…_

_.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.  
_

Calmly, as if entranced, she lifted the fallen gun from the ground and raised it to the side of her head. She held her breath, closing her eyes as she clutched at her chest. As her finger began to squeeze the trigger, a tiny voice in her head shouted,

_'Don't do it! You are going to die!'_

…But whatever consciousness had washed over her did not listen. Instead, she murmured sluggishly in a dream-like voice,

"Per…so…na…"

…and pulled the trigger.

Blackness… with nothing but the sound of shattering glass… and a strong, echoing voice booming in her mind:

"Thou art I… and I am thou…."

She shifted, twisting and turning in the darkness, trying to find the source of the voice… then suddenly, she was hurtling towards a light. A light that she, as she drew near, realized was in fact a door- a door that she recognized somehow.

With a flash of blinding light, Haruhi found herself in a low-lit room, a soft, unseen piano decorating the atmosphere with its soothing lullaby. She took a tentative step forward, hearing her shoe clack against the floor as her eyes explored the room, finally falling upon a man seated behind a table. Her heart skipped a beat as she locked eyes with him… she knew that face. She had been here before- she was sure of it!

"This room…" She took another careful step forward, never taking her eyes away from the man with the long nose, "the… 'Velvet Room,' wasn't it…? I've been here before… Haven't I?"

The eerie old man smiled politely, his eyes bulging abnormally,

"Yes… It's so nice to see you again. Please, have a seat. Don't be shy."

It was then that she noticed a younger man standing closely behind the older one… still equally eerie looking in his own sense. She eyed him cautiously as she padded up to the empty chair on the opposite side of the table. As she seated herself, the old man grinned.

"My name is Igor… and to my left here, is my associate, Theodore."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Theodore bowed slightly, his dainty hand laid upon his chest in a very polite manner. Haruhi bowed her head in a rigid, unsure reply. Theodore only smiled in return, keeping his eyes on her as did Igor. Haruhi swallowed hard, feeling rather uncomfortable. She glanced back to the old man and cleared her throat to find her voice.

"What… what exactly happened?"

Igor smiled, tapping his fingertips lightly against each other.

"You became unconscious after awakening to your 'power.'"

"My 'power?'"

"Yes… The power called Persona… a manifestation of your Psyche. And I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling."

"Orpheus…?" She murmured, glancing down at the table, her eyebrows knotted together in confusion momentarily. Suddenly, she remembered the voice.

_'Thou art I, and I am Thou.'_

"Was that the voice that spoke to me?" She asked, her gaze snapping back up to Igor's. His smile grew, making him seem even more strange.

"Yes. Now that your power has awakened, you'll more than likely be able to actually stay conscious when using your Persona… and you have the ability to control more than one… It only depends on your ability to channel your inner strength… which evolves as you develop your 'Social Links.'"

"'Social Links?'" She blinked, tilting her head to the side.

"'Social Links' are your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that."

"I'm not sure I understand…" Her eyebrows knit together, concerned that she was failing to comprehend something important. Igor merely grinned, his grayish teeth showing.

"Do not worry. It will all come in time… as long as you let it. Now, then… Time marches on in your world… I'm afraid I shouldn't keep you here any longer." He lifted a hand, gesturing to the door behind her. With a sharp gasp, her eyes widened at the sensation of being yanked backward in her chair by the naval. The room shrank as she was pulled away from in back into the darkness from whence she came, hearing his voice echo eerily into her mind.

"The next time we meet… you will come here of your own accord. Until then, Haruhi…

…Farewell."

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

With a soft gasp, Haruhi's eyes shot open. Red irises focused on the white ceiling above her, slowly realizing that it was unrecognizable. As she groaned with a flinch, moving to sit up, she heard movement beside her.

Yukari gasped along with Haruhi as they made eye contact, each surprising the other.

"You're awake…!" She paused, smiling with a relieved sigh, "I'm so glad… You've been out for so long!"

Haruhi winced, tilting her head from side to side to gingerly stretch her neck,

"What do you mean? How long have I been asleep?"

"About ten days, actually… The doctor's couldn't even find anything wrong with you… They just said you were exhausted… and who can blame you?"

Haruhi could only stare at her, her mind whirring and silently screaming.

'Ten days?'

"Um…" Yukari's voice called her attention. She looked away as she spoke, ashamed. "I'm sorry… I couldn't do anything to help you. I was supposed to be protecting _you_… and… well…"

She chuckled, shaking her head with a sigh.

"But your power… it was amazing, Haruhi!"

Haruhi blinked slowly, the word 'power' sparking the memory of her dream in her mind.

"What… exactly did I do…? I can't remember anything after pulling the trigger."

"The power you used… We call it 'Persona.' That's the creature you called forth to defeat the Shadows- those strange creatures… our enemy."

Haruhi nodded, turning this information over in her head. Perhaps those dreams she'd been having really were real… Yukari smiled softly nodding as well.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you about all of this before… but don't worry! We'll be able to explain everything to you when you get back. But for now, just rest."

As Yukari smiled once again and moved toward the door to leave, she paused.

"And… I, uh… I wanted to tell you that… I'm sort of like you."

Haruhi blinked at her as Yukari turned her head slightly to glance over her shoulder.

"My dad died in an accident when I was little… and let's just say that my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms…" She turned to face her fully with a kind, shy smile on her face. "…You're all alone too, right?"

Her eyebrows knit together as she listened to her speak, the weight of what her words meant sinking into her, causing her heart to flutter.

"Takeba-san…"

Yukari chuckled slightly, shaking her head.

"Call me Yukari."

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

The next day, Haruhi was released from Tatsumi Memorial Hospital early in the morning. Her school uniform and bag had been delivered to her the day before, so she set out to school straight from the hospital. As she reached the school gates, she heard a familiar, chipper voice.

"Yo! Haru-chan!"

With an inward groan, she slowly turned her head to see Junpei approaching her at a jog. As he reached her, he gave her his usual grin.

"Long time no see! What's up? Did you have an upset stomach or something?"

Haruhi gave him the grumpiest look that she could muster in return.

"Sure… something like that."

Junpei merely smirked at her reaction and laughed.

"Well, it's good to see our Haru-chan is all better now, right?"

He raised his hand in a familiar gesture, causing her eyes to widen. Her hands, still clutching her school bag, immediately flew up to shield her head from him.

"Don't you _dare_!"

Junpei continued to laugh happily at the situation until they heard Yukari's voice from behind Haruhi.

"Sheesh, someone's full of energy today." Her glare would have stung Junpei if it had the physical ability. "I could hear you from all the way over there!"

He immediately rounded on her, not missing a beat.

"Hey, it's Yuka-tan!" Yukari grimaced at the nickname as Haruhi began to lower her book bag from over her head. "You two live in the same dorm, yet you came separately today? You still worried about those rumors?" He bent forward to poke Yukari in the forehead jokingly.

"Ugh… would you give it a rest?" Yukari snarled, swatting his hand away. "I just left a little late, that's all… Anyways, I need to talk to Haruhi right now, Stu-pei, so you can leave ."

Her glare chased him away as he left with a sigh, hanging his head dejectedly. Haruhi couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the exchange between the two. She was beginning to feel better already. After Yukari's instructions to return to the dorm immediately after school, the two of them headed up to class.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Her first class was with Ms. Toriumi that day… and to no one's surprise, seated next to Haruhi was Junpei… already dozing at the beginning of the lecture. Haruhi glanced at him with a quiet, exasperated sigh, listening to her teacher.

"Alright class! Take out your textbooks and open them to page fifty-seven. We'll take a look at the first novel by… Ugh, Zenzou Kasai?" She sighed with a whine, "Why him? I'd rather teach Utsubo Kubota…"

Haruhi yawned lightly as Ms. Toriumi continued to complain about the school's choice in material until she heard her voice raise sharply, jarring her from the beginnings of a daydream.

"Junpei!"

Hearing his name made him jolt awake with the sort of clever guise and finesse that could only have been practiced throughout the years. His widened eyes locked with the teachers as she frowned.

"Were you even listening? Who did I say was my favorite author?"

Knowing he was caught, he simply stammered, trying to think of a quick escape from Ms. Toriumi's wrath. Not really knowing why she did it, Haruhi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, catching a moment of his panicked expression on his face before staring straight down at the surface of her own desk.

"Utsubo Kubota." Her voice was barely a whisper, but he caught it. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch before he parroted the answer aloud, himself. Haruhi glanced up to see Ms. Toriumi's shocked smile.

"That's right! So you were listening after all!"

Junpei chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

"Well… you know how I like to pay attention!"

As Ms. Toriumi beamed and returned to her rant about her favorite author, Haruhi could hear a few student around her whispering.

"Haruhi gave him the answer…!"

"She must pay attention in class!"

Junpei glanced out of the corner of his eye, catching her eye glancing back at him through the corner of her own. He gave her a covert, grateful smile which she returned with her own small, timid one. As she broke eye contact to stare back up at Ms. Toriumi who looked to be finally beginning the lecture on the material in the text, she felt her face grow warm.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

After school, Haruhi collected her things and rose from her seat to leave when Junpei approached her.

"Hey, Haru-chan…" He smiled somewhat embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't get a chance to thank you earlier today… You really saved my ass."

Haruhi smirked, slipping her last book into her bag before swinging it onto her shoulder.

"Well… That just shows you that you shouldn't be falling asleep in class, doesn't it?"

She moved forward to leave the classroom and Junpei followed, falling into step beside her with a chuckle.

"I guess it's fair enough for you to say that… not that it'll stop happening. Haven't you ever noticed how refreshed you feel when you nap in class?"

"Like you couldn't get enough sleep at night?" She glanced at him, an eyebrow cocked.

"Ha! There aren't enough hours in the night for it!" He proclaimed, throwing his arms up.

"There might be if you went to bed at a decent hour…" She tossed her head in an almost convincing snooty attitude. "_You're_ probably out all night… or up playing video gamaes… and if that's the case, then you'd best not count on me bailing you out again."

Junpei placed his hand at his chest with an equally convincing wounded look.

"So heartless!"

She giggled, keeping her gaze ahead as they made their way to the front gates. He glanced at her with a grin, watching her a moment before speaking again.

"Anyways… I got something to tell ya."

They both stopped as they reached the gate, Haruhi looking up at him puzzled.

"What is it…?"

He smirked proudly for a moment, folding his arms over his chest,

"Well… it's like this-" But he stopped before he could continue, his eyes growing wide for a moment. He paused, clearing his throat.

"Actually, I'm not supposed to say anything about it…"

She blinked at him, her eyebrows knitting together in irritation.

"Wait- what…? Seriously?"

He nodded, chuckling,

"Yup. Sorry!"

And with that, he ran off.

"Hey! Where are you going?" She called angrily after him.

He turned, still jogging backwards as he called back to her.

"I've got some stuff to take care of! See you later, Haru-chan!"

She watched him turn again and continue his mad dash away. With the shake of her head and an irked sigh, she turned and made her way towards the dorm in the opposite direction.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

She met everyone up on the fourth floor of the dorm in a large, comfortable meeting room, furnished with soft, inviting furniture. There she met Yukari, Mitsuru, the Chairman- Ikutsuki and a new face, who was introduced as Akihiko, a boy in the same year as Mitsuru. He flashed her a charming smile as he greeted her,

"How ya doin'?"

Haruhi couldn't help but blush slightly as she greeted him with a friendly smile before Ikutsuki started the orientation set up in honor of Haruhi. He patiently answered all of her questions, and as their conversation continued, she could feel a bond of trust growing towards him. He explained to her what The Dark Hour was and what happens during it, and that this is the hour where the Shadows appear.

With a smile, Ikutsuki handed her a red armband with the letters SEES embroidered around it, and to his right, Mitsuru opened a briefcase revealing her very own Evoker, a gun that released the hidden power and potential of Personas. After another long explanation, Haruhi finally agreed to join SEES and was greeted with relieved smiles.

A faint buzzing could be heard, and Akihiko glanced up.

"Ah. That must be him. Finally."

He left the room without another word, Yukari and Haruhi looked to Ikutsuki for an answer, but it was Mitsuru who spoke.

"Akihiko has found another candidate to join SEES."

After a few short minutes, they soon heard fumbling and thumping coming up the stairs behind the door, along with Akihiko's voice, and another that sounded… alarmingly familiar.

"Hey, hurry up!" Akihiko called behind him as he opened the door. The thumping sounds of what sounded like luggage were growing louder.

"Hold your horses… This is freakin' heavy!"

Haruhi glanced at Yukari, who shrugged. The two of them bolted up from their seats in shock when Junpei heaved a heavy suitcase over the threshold of the doorway. He wiped the sweat from his brow and spotted the them, his face cracking into a wide grin as he chuckled.

"Wazzap?"

It was Yukari who found her voice first.

"Junpei! …_Why _are _you_ here?"

Akihiko leaned against the wall next to the door with a smirk.

"Ah, good. You know each other." He glanced at Mitsuru and Ikutsuki with a nod. "This is Junpei Iori from Class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today."

It was Haruhi's turn to find her voice.

"Wh-what? He's staying _here_?"

"You've gotta be _kidding_ me!" Yukari chimed in almost immediately after.

Akihiko merely shrugged.

"I bumped into him the other night. He has the potential, but he just awakened to it recently. He's agreed to help us."

"Yeah, he found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins. I… don't really remember much, but man…" Junpei chuckled, his cheeks tinted a pinkish hue, "…that's embarrassing! Though he said that's all pretty normal, y'know? Like, bein' confused… not remembering anything… Just in the beginning though. Did you guys know that?"

Haruhi stared blankly at him. These were some symptoms that she had had… but they hadn't really been explained like that to her before. Junpei smirked, catching Haruhi's expression as he scanned the group, a somewhat prideful air washing over him.

"Didn't he tell ya? Man, _every_ Persona-user should know _that_."

Her face darkened into a blushing scowl, immediately snapping back,

"Sounds like _some_one's just trying to make himself feel better about being found bawling outside the Seven-Eleven!"

His face went pink for a moment before he cleared his throat and subconsciously brought his hand up to straighten his cap.

"Well… anyway… I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea! I'm glad I'm not the only one… it could get kinda lonely, y'know?" His face suddenly split into his toothy grin once again, as he stepped foreward to poke Haruhi playfully in the forehead, causing her to wince, closing one eye. "I bet you're stoked too, right? Havin' _me_ join… It'd be nice to have a guy around too, wouldn't it?"

With an irritated growl, she smacked his hand away.

"Just don't slow us down."

Enjoying the rise he got out of her, he chuckled and continued with a smirk,

"No worries. Nothin's gonna happen to you long as I'm around!"

As Haruhi opened her mouth, already wielding an angry retort, Akihiko cleared his throat, cutting her off.

"Well, enough with the introductions. I think we're about ready… starting tomorrow, I'd like us to start exploring Tartarus."

"Tartarus…?" Junpei tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "What's that? …Kinda sounds like toothpaste."

"Think of it as a Shadow nest." Akihiko smirked, cracking his knuckles, "It's the perfect place for us to train."

Mitsuru stepped forward, wearing a superior smirk of her own and placing a hand on Akihiko's shoulder,

"Indeed… but since Akihiko hasn't fully recovered yet, _he'll_ only be going as far as the entrance."

Sighing, Akihiko shrugged her hand off, frustrated disappointment etching his face.

"Yeah, yeah, I know…"

"Relax, ladies! I've got your backs." Junpei grinned with jovial arrogance, causing Yukari and Haruhi to sigh in unison.

"Also, since Mitsuru and I won't be joining you in the heat of battle just yet, we'll be electing a leader."

Junpei's face lit up automatically as he began jumping on the spot like an excited first grader.

"Serious? Oh! Oh, me! Me me me! Pick me!"

Akihiko raised an amused eyebrow at him for a moment before turning to Haruhi.

"You're in charge."

Haruhi blinked, glancing at Yukari, who wore an identical surprised look before smiling with a shrug. Junpei was not as calm.

"Wha…? B-but she's a girl!"

"Hey-!" Haruhi began to snarl back before Yukari cut her off.

"Well… she _has_ fought them before." She shrugged again, calmly.

"What… Seriously?" He shot her a shocked look. It was Haruhi's turn to smirk smugly at him, leaning forward with her hands neatly behind her back.

"What's the matter Junpei…? Surely big and strong _you_ have fought them before, haven't you? Boy, I thought _every_ Persona-user's fought them at least _once_."

Instead of getting mad, Junpei grinned deviously at the blatant challenge.

"Hah! I bet once I get goin', I can do it way better than you!"

Haruhi crowed with over-dramatic laughter, throwing a hand in front of her face and laughing into the back of it.

"Ohhh ho ho ho ho! I'd like to see you try! Just see if you can keep up, 'Stu-pei!'"

Junpei stepped in front of her to get in her face, tipping his cap at a smug, jaunty angle.

"Oh just you wait, 'Haru-tan!'"

Sparks seemed to fly between them as they smirked at one another, sizing each other up. Yukari sighed loudly in irritation while Mitsuru and Akihiko stared, confused. Chairman Ikutsuki only laughed at the exchange.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Late that night when all the inhabitants of the dorm were asleep, Haruhi stirred, hearing a voice.

"Haruhi-chan…"

Her eyes snapped open and she turned her head groggily to the side to see a young boy in striped pajamas. He gave her an eerie, but chipper smile.

"Hi, how are you?"

She bolted upright in her bed with a gasp.

"Who are you?"

He giggled, tilting his head to the side as he studied her with his blue eyes… his endless, empty blue eyes.

"We've met before, don't you remember…?"

He was right. As he stated it, she realized that he did in fact seem very familiar. The boy with the contract!

"I expect you to honor your commitment." He spoke, keeping that same unnerving smile on his face, as if he knew what she was thinking. "Soon, the end will come. I remembered, so I thought that I should tell you."

Her eyebrows furrowed together, concerned. What a morbid thing for a child to say!  
"Wha… The end…? The end to what?"

The boy merely looked over his shoulder as if he heard something. She watched him, straining her ears for some unknown sound… yet all was quiet save for her troubled breathing.

"I'd better go… but I'll be watching you, even if you forget about me…"

She took in a sharp breath as he faded from view, appearing again slightly farther away.

"Okay then, see you later."

Haruhi reached out, stretching an hand toward him as he began to fade again.

"W-wait!"

But it was too late… the mysterious boy had disappeared before she had even begun to utter the word.

.~*~.


	4. April 23rd, 2009

**Author's Note: Thanks to those who have read thus far! Make sure you review!**

**Music Suggestion: Same as a prior chapter. The music just fits this chapter, even if it's short in length. : ****www . youtube . com/watch?v=5HX3U9veCO4**

**April 23rd**

_Dear Diary,_

_ What a strange couple of days! My first visits to Tartarus were filled with danger and excitement! Yukari, Stu-pei and I did relatively well. I can feel us growing stronger together as we fight… perhaps this is what Igor meant by 'Social Links.'_

_ Speaking of 'Social Links,' I feel as though I have found yet another already… I'm wondering if I don't mind so much helping this one grow. I'm not sure how to explain how I feel… I guess because I'm not quite sure exactly what it is that I feel quite yet. I'll have to be careful…_

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

The school day came and went as usual- Haruhi and Yukari took down notes avidly while Junpei slept through class, much to Yukari's irritation. Haruhi found that she didn't mind too terribly much- he was much less irritating while asleep.

After class, Junpei stood up with a stretch and a grin, turning to his left to Haruhi who was just gathering her things.

"Yo, Haru-chan!"

Giving him no more than a sideways glance, she replied nonchalantly.

"Ahh. I see you're awake."

"Wanna hang out after this? I know someplace that's really good!"

Blinking, she turned to face him fully, standing from her desk.

"Me…? But why?"

Junpei stood as well, slipping his hands in his pockets in what he must have thought looked like a 'cool guy' pose. He leaned forward slightly, speaking in a tempting voice,

"I'll be my treat! C'mon, let's go!"

Haruhi frowned with a light, irritated scowl on her face as she turned away to put her final books and papers into her bag.

"Man, you're so pushy!"

Junpei laughed and stepped forward to place a hand on the top of her head, gently ruffling her hair.

"Heh, don't be that way! I'll make sure that you don't regret it."

She felt one of her eyebrows twitch as she grumbled,

"I'm already regretting it…"

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Finally giving in, Haruhi followed Junpei outside towards the front gate, watching him grin like a child. She couldn't help him smile in return, amused at how he insisted on walking backwards ahead of her to lead the way as they conversed… she wondered how long it would be before he ran into something or someone and chuckled inside at the thought.

Before this could happen, however, he was distracted to a halt by the sound of high-pitched giggling. They both turned to see a flock of girls sprinting toward someone who looked rather familiar.

"Look! It's Akihiko-senpai!" One squealed happily at the head of the group.

"Wait for us!" Another called in a twittering voice.

Junpei and Haruhi watched as they approached and crowded around Akihiko, who didn't seem very pleased at the attention. Junpei threw his arms behind his head, stretching slightly.

"Man, would you look at that? I hear they're always swarming Akihiko-senpai like that." He sighed loudly, "I know he's the captain of the boxing team, but… I mean, come on! You don't even see girls like that on TV!"

Haruhi tilted her head to the side, peeking around Junpei's shoulder to get a better look.

"Huh… I wonder where they're all going…"

They watched for a few moments before Akihiko caught Haruhi's eye, a relieved smile appearing on his face as he waded through the crowd of girls towards them.

"Hey, are you guys free this afternoon?"

"Huh? Who, us?" Junpei stammered, glancing at Haruhi in surprise. She blinked up at him and shrugged, giving the decision solely to him. He shrugged back before turning to Akihiko,

"I… guess so…?"

Akihiko gave them a curt nod, speaking with authority.

"I want the two of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall. You know where that is, right?"

They both nodded in response before he continued,

"Good. I'll be at the police station. See ya there."

As he turned to leave them, Junpei blinked at him,

"Th-The police station? …Uh, are you friends gonna come along, too?"

Haruhi gave him an irritated glare out of the corner of her eye that he didn't notice. Akihiko turned around again, giving Junpei a puzzled look.

"Who, these girls?" He scoffed with a wince, "I don't even know their names. They talk so much they give me a headache. Anyway, I'm gonna head out. …Don't keep me waiting."

And with that, Akihiko parted through the sea of girls as if he were some biblical miracle maker. The girls seemed taken aback, but still continued to swoon as they all went their separate ways, leaving Junpei and Haruhi nearly alone by the front gate. They both just stared at the spot where all the girls had once stood, slightly stunned.

"Man, how can he not know their names?" Junpei exclaimed, waving his arms around, "I mean, seriously! Just look at them!"

Irked, Haruhi shot him the deadliest glare that she could muster at the moment.

"Thanks, Junpei."

With a chuckle and his usual toothy grin, Junpei swung a friendly arm around her shoulder.

"Aww, don't be upset, 'Haru-tan!' Who needs flocks of girls when I've got you?"

Feeling very much like a grumpy cat, Haruhi mumbled irritably, not even bothering to shrug away his arm.

"Oh ha ha…"

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

And so, they made their way towards Paulownia Mall to meet Akihiko at the police station. Upon entering the station, they found Akihiko speaking to a surely looking man in uniform who was introduced as Officer Kurosawa. They chatted there for a short while, browsing what weapons Kurosawa had to sell for their cause against the Shadows before leaving.

As walked back out into the mall, Haruhi checked her wallet for her remaining money.

"Boy… that stuff was pretty expensive…"

"I know… and that cheap-skate Akihiko only gave us 5,000 yen for spending money…" Junpei sighed before glancing at her. "Still wanna grab some food?"

"I am rather hungry…" Haruhi frowned, only half paying attention as something else caught her eye. A shop with the words "Be Blue V" printed on the window glittered with several types of jewelry on display. She stepped away from Junpei for a moment to peer in, noticing a 'help wanted' sign for part-time positions. "Part-time, huh?"

"Oooo… Haru-chan's thinking about being a workin' girl, huh?" Junpei snickered, coming up to stand behind her. "Well, if you want my opinion, I think you ought to go for a job where you can wear a cute uniform!"

An angry blush crept across her face as Haruhi whipped around to glare up at him.

"Y- …L-Let's just go eat!"

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

At the Iwatodai Strip Mall, there was a ramen shop that Junpei lead her to called Hagakure. It was pretty crowded, but luckily they were able to get in and find some seats at the bar rather quickly. Junpei gave Haruhi a moment to get settled before calling to the man behind the counter,

"Alright! We'll have two specials!"

Haruhi threw him a sideways glance, blinking at the audacity of him ordering for her without her permission.

"The special?"

He gave her a wide grin, leaning back slightly in his seat while they waited for their meals.

"Haha, yeah. The normal meals are good, too, but the special…? Pure. Awesome."

"Uh… huh…" Haruhi murmured, giving him a light scowl. 'Man, he really _is_ pushy.'

It wasn't long before the waiter brought two bowls of hot, steaming ramen over to them. Almost against her will, just breathing in the fragrant smell rising from the bowl made her stomach growl. Junpei chuckled upon hearing this, causing her to blush.

"C'mon, try it." He urged, resting his chin in his hand as he watched her with an eager smile. With a sigh, she pulled some of the noodles up from the broth with her chopsticks, placing it close to her lips for a moment or two to blow on it. After it was cooled enough to eat, she slipped some of the noodles into her mouth, sucking up the rest of the clump she had pulled up. She blinked, wide-eyed. As much as she hated Junpei being right about anything, it really was exactly as he had described it. 'Pure. Awesome.' She whipped her head to the side and threw him an excited smile.

"This is delicious!"

He laughed happily at her reaction, chin still resting in his hand.

"Haha! Good, right? I knew you'd like it."

She blinked again at him for a moment, feeling herself blush for some reason, but Junpei didn't seem to notice. He turned to his own bowl, picking up his chopsticks with a grin.

"Well then, I'm digging in too. Chow time!" He skewered a piece of meat while picking up some noodles, stuffing it into his mouth before even bothering to let it cool. Haruhi bit back a snicker as she watched his eyes begin to water.

"Ahh, hot hot hot…" He slurped up the noodles noisily with a loud, satisfied sigh, "Man, this is great!"

Unable to help herself anymore, Haruhi burst into laughter, causing Junpei to grin sheepishly, laughing with her. After their laughter subsided, he looked at her with a friendly smile.

"Hey… Do you feel okay now?"

Haruhi, who had just put more noodles to her lips to eat, blinked at him with a puzzled look.

"Uh…?"

"Well," He set his chopsticks down for a moment, looking fully at her. "I heard that while you were out for a while, you were in the hospital. You seemed full of energy at school… but I was kind of worried."

She blinked again before pointing at him in realization.

"Ahh! So _that's_ why you invited me out!"

It was his turn to look puzzled for a moment before chuckling,

"Well yeah! I had some problems myself when I transferred here, too. In your case, you've got all the fighting stuff on top of that…" She watched him with a look of wonder as he fidgeted with his hat, blushing as he continued, "I was wondering if you weren't accustomed to school or whatever… Then again, I think you'll do just fine."

He smiled at her with a laugh, seemingly embarrassed. Haruhi's face softened with a gentle smile.

'He was… really trying to be thoughtful.'

Suddenly, she felt her heart skip a beat as the sound of shattering glass rang in her ears, coupled with a booming voice,

'_Thou art I… and I am thou…_

_Thou shalt have our blessing_

_when thou choosest a_

_Persona of the Magician Arcana.'_

She felt a bond growing between the two of them as they sat there that moment, time seeming to stop until she understood.

'Social Link…?'

A hand waved in her field of vision and she blinked with a gasp.

"Haru-chan… You there?" Junpei's amused, yet concerned voice met her ears, bringing her back to the noise of the ramen shop. She nodded apologetically, causing him to grin, "Did my words of care shock you?"

She scoffed with a smirk and retort,

"Sure… Just didn't expect anything like _that_ to come out of _your_ mouth."

He leaned back, stretching in a mock-arrogant manner,

"Well, what can I say? I'm so deep."

She chortled, pulling up some more noodles from her bowl. Junpei grinned, picking his own chopsticks up again,

"Still… Girls and guys livin' in the same dorm, huh? That can't be good."

Halfway through sucking up her noodles she threw a sideways glare at him, cutting the rest of the noodles free with her teeth to swallow and turn to him.

"Stop smirking like that."

Junpei immediately guffawed loudly for a few moments before grinning back at her,

"Aww… I can't help it. Don't worry, Haru-chan, I don't drag love into work. Then again," He poked her in the forehead with a cackle, "I can't guarantee that I won't fall for somebody, mwahaha!"

She smacked his hand away with a smirk of her own.

"That's all depending if anyone would have you."

He faked a wounded look, clutching his chest where his heart would be.

"Ouch! A sting! It hurts, 'Haru-tan!'"

Haruhi couldn't help but laugh at him, causing him to join in once again. Despite how odd he really was, she was really beginning to enjoy herself around him more or less. They continued to talk and laugh together as they finished their ramen. It was dark out by time they left Hagakure to head back to the dorm, Junpei chattering the entire way.

'Maybe… he's not so bad.'


	5. April 29th, 2009

-1**Author's Note: This chapter is a bit longer. Haha! I seem to be alternating somewhat! Thank you reviewers! I hope you like this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it! Therefore, if you're weird like me and like matching music with what you're reading, here's some specific suggestions… (Again. Not mandatory. Just thought it would be fun to let you know what I listened to (on loop, annoying my roommate) while writing. ^_^)**

**Music Suggestions:**

**Afternoon/Mall : www . youtube . com/watch?v=5HX3U9veCO4 (Whut. Yeah, it's Cloudy Noon again, I can't help it if it fits! You guys play a game with the same music playing over again too, so shush!)**

**Arcade: (Any DDR song, really. I listened to "Stamp on the Ground" by ItaloBrothers.)**

**www . youtube . com/watch?v=EQnDRBrU7Mk**

**The Dark Hour: www . youtube . com/watch?v=R5Sm4kTOoBI**

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

**April 29th**

_Dear Diary,_

_ I've been so busy this past week! Apart from joining the Volleyball team and Student Council, there are so many things to see around town. An old couple runs a cute little book store in the Iwatodai Strip Mall, and I think I'll stop by and visit them from time to time- They seem really sweet!_

_ I got to spend time with Yukari yesterday after school, and I can feel us growing closer already. I hope the two of us can become closer friends!_

_ Today was a holiday so there were no classes. Junpei-kun invited me out today and I went with him to the arcade…_

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

It was around one o'clock in the afternoon and Haruhi was stretched out on one of the sofas downstairs with a book. It was relatively quiet with no one else being there to compete with the soft ticking of the clock on the wall. Akihiko had come and gone a few hours ago, headed out to who knows where. Mitsuru had joined her for a couple hours around ten with a book of her own, but she had also gone out to runs some errands. Yukari had previous engagements with friends at school, and Junpei seemed to be sleeping in.

With a content sigh, she rolled over onto her back, crossing her ankles leisurely as she shifted to get comfortable again. She wasn't sure how much time had passed before a voice from directly above her broke the silence in the room.

"Ha-ru-cha~n!" Junpei's sing-song voice caused her to jump with a squawk. As she moved the book away from her face with a annoyed scowl, she saw his upside-down face upside above her- grinning like an idiot. How could she have not heard him come down the stairs?

"What do you want?" She grumbled, lifting her book up again to continue reading and block him from view.

"Whatcha do~in'?" She heard him move around to the side of the couch.

"Isn't it obvious?" She answered flatly.

"Whatcha re~adin'?" He asked, keeping his playful tone of voice. When she didn't answer, he leaned forward, reading the title allowed, "'_A Modern History of Japan'…_You're doing homework on a holiday?"

With an irritated sigh, she snapped the book shut, jolting at how close his face was to the book and now to her own face. Shaking it off, she sat up, fixing him with a glare.

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?"

"What's _wrong_ with it, is that it's a nice _day_ outside and you're _wasting_ it!" He threw his arms up as if he were proving a point.

"You haven't even been outside, 'Stu-pei.' You just got up." She scowled, "Besides, we have thirty pages due next week and I want to get an early- Hey!"

With a smirk, Junpei had snatched the book from her hands and held it high above his head. She bolted up from the sofa and stretched her arms up, trying to reach it, but to no avail. He grinned down at her, watching her jump on the spot to try and swat it out of his hands, her face turning red with anger.

"Give it back, Junpei!"

"How about this instead- Why don't you go out somewhere with me?"

She stopped jumping, glaring up at him incredulously.

"What?"

"C'mon, it'll be good for you! Everyone else went out, didn't they?" His arm relaxed slightly, lowering the book.

"Well why does that mean I have to go out too? I wanted to stay in today!" She snapped, seeing the opening and making a grab for the book once again. With a chuckle, he raised his arm again, lifting the book out of her reach. With his free hand, he lightly ruffled her hair, teasing her.

"Well, if you'd rather stay in, I'll just keep you company. Wouldn't be right for a guy to leave a girl home all alone…" He drawled in a joking manner, "Wouldn't be very gentleman-like."

With a heavy sigh, she slumped her shoulders in defeat. So much for a peaceful afternoon…

"If I say yes, will you give me back my book?" She looked back up at him with a contemptuous glare. He shot her a victorious grin and stopped ruffling her hair. He bent so that he was eye-level and handed her book to her.

"Here you go, 'Haru-tan.'"

She snatched the book back with a grumble,

"Fine. I'll go get my coat."

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

After fixing her hair and fetching her coat, she and Junpei head out for Paulownia Mall. Haruhi's mood had lightened after getting outside into the cool, but comfortable air. She was smiling again by time they arrived at their destination- Game Panic, the arcade next to the music store.

"Here we are!" Junpei cheered, thrusting a fist into the air. Haruhi blinked up at the store.

"Game… Panic…?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

Junpei turned around, scratching the back of his head.

"Huh… That reminds me, I didn't think too hard before bringing you to the arcade. You cool coming here?"

"Uh, I guess so. I don't think I've been to a place like this before." She admitted slowly.

"Well, I'll pitch in some coins for ya." He winked with a click of his tongue, "Let's choose something we can both play. C'mon!"

Haruhi felt her heart skip a beat for a moment as he turned and walked through the arcade doors. She blinked, confused for a moment, before shaking her head and scampering after him.

The inside of the arcade was bright and loud. Every machine was exploding with sound and flashing lights and graphics, enticing customers to play. It was pretty busy, being that it was a holiday, and she recognized a few fellow students.

"So, Haru-chan, have you ever played any games before?" He nudged her gently with his elbow to get her attention.

"Well… a few times. But never in an arcade." She replied, still looking around.

"You any good? If there's one you think you can beat me at, I'll take that challenge!" He grinned disdainfully. Haruhi smirked up at him for a moment before giving the arcade another quick scan. Her eyes landed on a game with a picture of a spectacled man with a beard and turban displayed next to the name: 'I.Q. Genie.' With an impish grin, she pointed over to it and glanced up to see his reaction.

"How about that quiz game over there?"

She couldn't help but giggle as he immediately became flustered.

"Ack! A battle of wits, huh…?" He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck, "I-I'm not too sure about my chances there… Let's find a co-op one instead of a versus game!"

"Alright, alright." She laughed, linking arms with him to tug him forward and out of his mini-funk. "Let's go find something, then."

They walked around the arcade, looking at the different varieties of games they had there. They found a drum game, a few different fighting games, driving games, motorcycle games, spaceship battle games, shooting games, and adventure games.

As they approached a medieval themed co-op adventure game titled: 'Iron Mitten II,' Haruhi spotted another game a few machines away.

"Junpei-kun, what's that?" She asked as she pointed to it. The machine had several flashing lights around it with a lot of loud music.

"Oh, that?" He glanced over to the machine, "That's 'Boogie-Down Anarchy: Extreme IV.' It's a dancing game."

"A _dancing_ game?" Haruhi tilted her head to the side as she watched the machine's current customer hop around on the platform as if it were the most ridiculous thing she'd ever seen. "How is that dancing?"

"Y'wanna try it?" Junpei nudged her playfully, "It's pretty fu~n…"

"N-no… that's quite alright…" She shook her head. He chuckled and took her arm by the elbow, pulling her gently with him.

"Aw, c'mon. I'll show you how it's done." He lead her towards the game machine as the previous user was just getting off. He turned and gave her a toothy grin as he took off his jacket and handed it to her. "Hold my jacket?"

She blinked, accepting the jacket as he stepped onto the platform to pump coins into the machine. Now that she was closer, she noticed that the platform on which he now stood had two sets of four arrows, one point in each direction. He leaned back on the rail at the back of the platform after he selected a song, throwing her an arrogant smirk while he waited for the song to start. She returned his smirk with one of her own, raising her eyebrow and shaking her head.

With the sound of cheering from the game, a happy, techno-pop song began to play and Junpei stood properly in the center of the platform in preparation. Haruhi watched the screen, seeing arrows begin to slide up from the bottom towards the top. After watching for a few moments, she realized that these arrows coincided with the arrows on the platform, and that the goal of the game was to sync your steps with the arrows reaching the top of the screen. Glanced down at Junpei's feet, entranced by the movement and the lighting up of the arrows as he stomped on to the beat of the song. He seemed to be pretty good at it- at least better than the last person playing… He at least looked like he was dancing some-what. Her eyes traveled up to the rest of him, looking up at his face. His eyes were glued to the screen, completely zoned in and concentrating on the arrows drifting up from the bottom… and there were so many! They were skating up in overwhelming amounts, but he still seemed to be hitting most of them spot on.

She glanced from the screen back at him, noticing that he was starting to sweat slightly as he was pulling a few tricks while stepping on the arrows. She blinked as she felt a heated blush creep across her face, averting her gaze with an inward grumble,

'Show off…'

Her gaze was attracted back to him, however, when he leaned backward far enough to smack one of the arrows with the palm of his right hand, pushing himself back up in time to hit the final three arrows with a smirk and a grunt. Haruhi started laughing, clapping her hands as the song finally came to a close. He turned to her with a victorious, toothy grin as he leaned toward her with his hands in his pockets.

"Pretty cool, huh?" He laughed along with her.

She gave him a nod, smiling back.

"You make it look less ridiculous and more fun."

"Wanna give it a try?" He reached out a hand. She paled slightly, shaking her head and taking a step back.

"No way… There were so many arrows! I'd never be able to do that!"

He chuckled, flexing his fingers as he continues to stretch his hand toward her.

"C'mon, it'll be fun! There's a beginner's level you can try- I'll do it with you."

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, turning the idea over in her head. Finally she nodded slowly, taking his hand.

"Alright, I'll try it… But if I make a fool of myself because of you, I'll… stop feeding you answers in class!"

He laughed, urging her to step up onto the platform with a gentle tug of her hand. He took his place on the second set of arrows next to her and fished into his pants pocket for more coins. Haruhi turned and draped his jacket onto the bar behind her, peeling off her own to repeat the action. When she turned again, Junpei was selecting a somewhat slower, but equally happy tune out of the song list.

"Okay, we're both on the beginner's difficulty. Y'ready?" He stood in the center of his side of the platform and she shifted to do the same. "Alright, now you're gonna see those arrows come up again. The point of the game is when, say… the left arrow reaches the top of the screen, you step on the panel with the left arrow on it at the same time. Get it?"

"S-sure." She nodded, watching as the first arrow moved from the bottom of the screen. It was moving sluggishly compared to what she had seen when Junpei had played, but it was still moving faster than Haruhi was currently comfortable with. With a squeak, she jabbed her foot into the up arrow, Junpei doing the same with ease. She blinked at the screen as it awarded her an 'OK' for that particular step as more arrows began to drift up from the bottom of the screen.

They played through the rest of the song, Junpei making all of his steps with fluid ease, Haruhi making most of hers, her movements stiff and unsure. It felt unnatural, to say the least… but as a smile began to grow across her face, she realized that she was at least having fun. As the song came to a close, she threw Junpei a smile, who returned it with one of his own.

"Fun, huh?"

Her smile grew as she nodded, happily.

"It was!"

They played a few more rounds before moving back to 'Iron Mitten II,' which Haruhi picked up a lot quicker than the dancing game. They played several levels of the adventure game (Junpei having to use more coins to resurrect Haruhi's character every now and then) before switching to a shooting game titled 'Malicious Citizen.' It was a horror-themed shooter with plenty of zombies crawling towards the front of the screen. Haruhi was decent enough at the game- mainly because she was spastically shooting everywhere on the screen in panic, obviously not a big fan of zombies. Junpei was beside himself with laughter as he played alongside her.

"Hahaha! You're such a wuss, Haru-chan!" He grinned, ruffling her hair with his free hand, "Don't worry, Junpei'll protect you from those big bad zombies!"

She blushed, wincing away from his hand irritably and earned another chuckle from Junpei as they went back to their game. They stayed at the arcade well into the evening, finally heading home at closing time.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Haruhi yawned loudly, shielding her mouth with her hand.

"I can't believe it's almost midnight! And I still have studying to do…"

Junpei laughed, walking alongside her.

"Aww. Is widdle bookworm 'Haru-tan' worried about her gwades?"

"Hey!" She protested, snapping her head to glare at him. "There's nothing wrong with me taking my studies seriously! You should actually be doing the same!"

He chuckled, ignoring her death glare and slipping his hands into his coat pockets.

"Heheh… You sound like Mitsuru-senpai. Y'know, there's nothing wrong with lightening up, too, right?"

"Hn. You and your frivolous way of living…" She shoved her hands into her own jacket pockets, shaking her head as they continued. They walked along in silence for a short while until suddenly, all of the lights around them went out simultaneously.

The air around them began to feel thicker… heavier… The moon above them grew larger, shifting colors to cast an eerie green light down upon the city, whose streets were not bathed in sticky red blood. They could feel a soft trembling beneath their feet, which told them that Tartarus was springing from what was once their school, stretching towards the sky. Haruhi took in a sharp breath, stepping closer to Junpei in alarm. She looked up at him to find him staring ahead, eyes narrowed with the most serious expression she'd ever seen upon his face.

"The Dark Hour…" He murmured. "I can't believe we didn't think about this before…"

"Our weapons… and Evokers!" Haruhi covered her mouth with a horrified gasp. "We don't have them with!"

"We're gonna have to be careful… C'mon, we gotta get back to the dorm." Junpei grabbed her by the arm at the elbow, pulling her behind him as he started running forward. She immediately yanked her arm from his grasp with an angry growl.

"But it's the Dark Hour and we're on Port Island! The train is out, you idiot! So how are we supposed to get back?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and turned to look at her again,

"Well you're the leader, right? Start thinking of an idea on the way. Unless you'd rather wait out the Dark Hour here- unarmed."

Her stern eyes locked with his for a moment as she bared her teeth with a growl.

"Let's get moving." She took off running ahead, Junpei easily keeping up beside her.

As they turned a corner onto a different street, they both stopped dead in their tracks. They were now both standing mere yards away from a Shadow. It was gliding slowly away from them, holding its porcelain mask up to look left and right- it didn't seem to notice them… yet. As it slowly turned around, Haruhi felt a hand clasp over her mouth- muffling a squeak, and an arm grab her around the chest, pulling her back around the corner. She breathed through her nose, slow, shuddering breaths, her back against Junpei's chest as he pressed himself against the building, both of them glancing towards the corner, listening…

They could hear its rattling breath, the sticky sound of its several syrupy arms moving across the pavement… it was getting closer. Haruhi's eyes darted in the other direction, spotting a small alleyway behind them in between the two buildings. She lightly pulled his hand away from her mouth and whispered in a hoarse, panicked voice.

"The alley…!"

Junpei's head turned sharply in the direction that she was looking and lurched forward for it, pulling Haruhi with him by the arm. After they made it into the alleyway, they both peeked around the corner, watching the Shadow slide around the side of the building and onto the street that had just been on. They were slowly backing further into the alley as it was getting closer to passing them… when Junpei's heel hit an old glass bottle, sending it bouncing noisily along the ground to hit a nearby dumpster with a resounding _clang!_

The sound was deafening in the eerie silence, and the two gripped each other in terror- Junpei's hands clamping onto Haruhi's shoulders from behind, Haruhi gripping on of his hands with both of hers. They watched, wide-eyed and frozen in place, as the Shadow began to drift slowly into view at the end of the alley. To their shock, however, it simply moved on, not turning in toward them.

Junpei let out a staggering breath he'd been holding, whispering to her.

"D-do y'think it didn't hear that…?"

Gulping, Haruhi, released herself from Junpei's grasp, tip-toeing towards the alleyway entrance.

"H-hey!" He hissed, "Get back here!"

She ignored him, peering cautiously around the corner after the Shadow. It was still moving sluggishly away from her at the same pace it had before. She narrowed her eyes curiously, moving next to a trashcan nearby… and kicking it over. The noise was enormous, bouncing off the walls of the alley, echoing into the night. Anything in at least a half mile radius should have heard it… but still the Shadow slid on, unperturbed. She gasped as she felt someone roughly grasp her arm and pull her away from the alley's entrance.

"Jeeze! What the hell are you doin'?" Junpei hissed, turning her around to face her.

"Junpei… I don't think they can hear…" Haruhi replied softly, still glancing over her shoulder.

"What?" He exclaimed, still in a paranoid whisper.

"Think about it. You know that noise was loud enough to attract anyone from the area who could hear it, right?" She turned back to him as his grip on her arm grew lax, "It's gotta be deaf- Shadows probably don't have a sense of sound!"

He stared at her for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Y-yeah… I bet that's why they're so easy to sneak up on when their backs are turned!" He suddenly crowed loudly, thrusting a jubilant fist into the air. "Well that makes our trip back a bit easier!"

She grinned back at him, clapping her hands together.

"We just have to avoid being seen!"

"Let's go, Haru-chan!"

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

They managed to make it to the station, dodging Shadows on the way. Panting, they stopped outside, reluctant to go in just yet.

"So…" Haruhi panted bent over, propping herself up at the knees, "What… do we do now…? I don't… have any ideas on how… to make a train move… during the Dark Hour."

Junpei leaned against a light post, catching his breath.

"We don't…" He clutched at his chest, heaving, "We're gonna have to walk on the tracks."

"Are you mad?" She exclaimed, "We're gonna fall!"

"C'mon, the tracks are wide enough." He reasoned, pulling himself from the post to stand properly again, "Besides, what choice do we have? We're pretty much out of options."

She sighed, frustrated as she moved to stand by him in front of the building. As she peered towards the darkness through the glass doors, she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear,

"You just _love_ taking me out of my comfort zone, don't you?"

He chuckled down at her, grinning cheekily.

"You know it!"

.~*~.

* * *

,~*~.

They managed to navigate through the station and one of the docked trains to climb onto the tracks. After a few minutes of walking in a dark tunnel, they eventually found themselves outside and several stories up over the sea, died green by the light of the moon. They kept their silence as they walked in single file, Haruhi walking a few paces ahead of Junpei. They were about halfway across the sea when he broke the silence.

"Hey, Haru-chan… Look!"

She turned around to face him, but he was pointing at something off in the distance behind them. She followed his finger to where Tartarus stood, tall… eerie… menacing, even though it was so far away. It seemed to shine in the moonlight, or maybe it was emitting its own light…

"It's kinda… pretty from far away, isn't it?" He tilted his head to the side, slipping his hands into his coat pockets.

"Yeah… It kind of is…" Haruhi nodded, staring at it for a moment longer before glancing up at the moon. "The moon sure looks pretty big… Bigger than it normally is outside the Dark Hour, anyway. It's like it's twice the size."

Junpei looked up as well.

"Yeah, you're right… Looks like it'll be full in a week or two, too…"

"Huh…" She murmured. Their gazes both dropped from the moon to each other to make eye contact. "We'd better keep moving."

They continued along the tracks, their conversations kept mainly quiet and short due to the eerie atmosphere. As they neared the next station, they began to pick up their pace to a jog. They reached the tunnel, navigating through the tunnel and station carefully and began the rest of their walk back. Their spirits rose the closer they were to the dorm, and before they knew it, they were just three blocks away.

"Let's make a deal and not do this again, okay?" Haruhi turned her head to gaze up at Junpei who walked beside her.

"Wh-whaaaat?" He looked down at her shocked, "But you had fun today!"

She burst into laughter, shaking her head.

"I don't mean that, idiot! Of course I had fun. _I'm_ talking about staying out this late and getting caught unarmed in the _Dark Hour _again."

Junpei chuckled, blushing slightly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah… or we could always carry our Evokers whenever we go out." He shot her a grin.

"Junpei…" Haruhi stopped walking, placing her hands on her hips with a stern look.

He laughed, stopping in front of her,

"Alright, alright… Deal."

He extended a hand and to took it into hers, shaking it firmly with a smile. He smiled back down at her with a light chuckle.

A loud, deep gurgling noise brought their handshake to a halt. They stared into each other's wide eyes, seeing their own panic being reflected back at them as they stood, frozen. After what felt like an eternity, they turned their heads in unison to see a Shadow across the street, holding its mask high above itself… the mask looking straight at them.

"Y-y'think it sees us…?" Junpei's voice was a higher pitch than usual, his hand gripping hers tighter. As if on cue, knives appeared in each of the Shadow's free hands. He gulped, "I think that means it does…"

"W-what do we-…? We can't-" Haruhi squeaked, but was cut off by Junpei lurching forward, yanking her along with him.

"_RUN! _" He bellowed, sprinting along the sidewalk with Haruhi stumbling to keep up. She looked over her shoulder as they ran, gasping as she saw is lumbering after them, more arms protruding from it's oil-like body to scrape at the ground, pulling it forward faster and faster. She turned back, screaming.

"It's _chasing_ us!"

"Just keep running, Haruhi!" His grip on her hand became tighter as he tried to pick up the pace, hurtling toward their sanctuary mere blocks away. His eyes widened sharply as he felt her hand shift, her fingers slipping from his grasp. Her whirled around, stumbling to a stop as he heard her shriek and watched her fall to the ground- tripping over an uneven part of the sidewalk.

"_Shit! _" He cursed, glancing around him quickly. Haruhi turned over onto her back with a scream, paralyzed by the image of the crazed Shadow scrambling closer and closer… Junpei's eyes locked onto a long rusty wrench lying near a fire hydrant and instantly bent forward to retrieve it as he sprinted back towards Haruhi.

Just as the Shadow was upon her, he stepped over her to put himself between them, swinging the wrench as hard as he could to knock the beast back, cracking its mask.

"_HOMERUN!_" He roared, sending the Shadow sailing backward into a mass of tangled limbs. Not wasting a moment, he turned, bending to grab Haruhi by her arms.

"Are you okay?" He asked, pulling her to her feet, "You can still move, right?"

"Y-yeah…" She hissed, glancing down at her scuffed and bloodied left leg, "I only skinned my knee."

"Hang in there, Haru-chan." He took her by the hand and they took off once again.

The dorm loomed in sight, only a block away. They could her the gurgling and the slapping of several hands trampling across the pavement behind them again. They could here the sounds getting closer… it was gaining on them! Haruhi screamed in desperation, squeezing Junpei's hand tighter as he grit his teeth, trying to go urge his legs to go faster. He cursed inwardly- They were still too far away from the front door… and even when they got there, they wouldn't be able to get inside in time… he knew this.

"_PENTHESILEA! _" A loud booming voice echoed through the night, causing both of them to jerk their heads to their left across the street to see a wave of ice speeding towards the Shadow, knocking it over. A very enraged Mitsuru trotted over to them, barking an order through gritted teeth.

"_Get_ inside, _now_."

They didn't need telling twice. Junpei sprinted forward again, pulling Haruhi with him to close the remaining distance between them and front steps of their dormitory. They each wrenched a door open and threw themselves inside, slamming the doors behind them. Once inside, still throbbing with adrenaline, they stared around the room, finding it very eerie and still.

"H-hello…?" Haruhi called, "Is anyone here?"

Junpei collapsed with a tired sigh, sliding into a sitting position against the door,

"I bet they're all out, Haru-chan… They were probably looking for us."

Haruhi turned to look down at him with a frown.

"You're probably right… We've really cause a lot of trouble tonight, haven't we?"

"Hey…" Junpei chuckled weakly, "At least we made it back okay."

"Yeah…" She smiled, shaking her head at him. "You'd better get up before they get back. Otherwise you're going to get hit by the door."

"Nope. Can't." He grinned childishly up at her as he lifted a hand towards her. "Help me up."

She rolled her eyes with a smirk and walked back over to him. Grasping him with both hands above the wrist, she pulled, heaving him to his feet. As he steadied himself, the lights in the room flickered back on, signifying the end of the Dark Hour. She glanced around the room with a relieved smile before looking back up at him. She noticed that her hands her still clutching him around the wrist… and he seemed to be aware of this fact as well since he was beaming down at her. She dropped her hands and blushed slightly, averting her gaze.

"Ah… Junpei…" She mumbled, "Thank you. Y'know, for… saving me… out there."

He chuckled and brought up a hand to ruffle her hair, causing her to flinch lightly.

"Aww, don' worry about it, Haru-chan. Didn't I tell ya that nothing' was gonna happen to you long as I'm around?"

She opened one eye, still wincing at him, yet smiled.

"Yeah, you did."

With a bang, the front doors flew open, causing them to leapt away from each other. Mitsuru stormed up to the both of them, rooting them to the spot with her glare. As she approached them, she slapped Junpei hard and swiftly across the cheek, causing his hat to go askew. Haruhi gasped, covering her mouth. Yukari and Akihiko returned through the front doors in time to witness this event.

"Where the _hell_ were you two? What did you think you were doing?" She roared at Junpei, who stared wide-eyed back at her in fear. "Do you have any idea how worried we all were- what could have happened? Do you think this is a _game_, Junpei? _Do_ you?"

Haruhi winced at her sharp, stinging tone, watching her practically breathe fire on Junpei.

"M-Mitsuru-senpai…" She jumped slightly as Mitsuru turned her fiery gaze onto her. "It was an accident. We just… lost track of time at the mall-"

"Haruhi." Her fierce voice stopped her. "This doesn't surprise me coming from Junpei, but you were appointed leader of our operations. I expected more of your decision making skills."

Her words stung them both. Junpei straightened his cap and dipped it lower to hide his face as he seethed silently while Haruhi lowered her head in an apologetic bow.

"I'm sorry, Senpai. It won't happen again."

Akihiko and Yukari watched frozen in silence at the front door, their eyes shifting between the three of them as a long pause made the air thick with tension. Finally, Mitsuru swept some of the hair from her face and sighed, calming down.

"Very well. But see that you don't disappoint me again, Haruhi. You're both dismissed." She turned from them with a wave of her hand, spotting the other two at the door. "I suggest we all return to our rooms. It's late."

Akihiko and Yukari nodded and made their way to the stairs, but Junpei didn't move. Haruhi looked up at him catching a glimpse of the anger and disappointment etched painfully across his face. Throwing Mitsuru a tentative glance, she lightly tugged his sleeve.

"Junpei…?"

He gasped softly, his blinking eyes finding hers. Suddenly he was all smiles again, back to his usual self.

"Guess we'd better hit they hay, huh?"

She gave him a concerned smile as she nodded up at him.

"Y-yeah."

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

As they reached the second floor to part ways, Haruhi turned to look up at Junpei once more, tilting her head to the side with a frown,

"Are you okay, Junpei…?"

He glanced down at her, shaking his head with a grin,

"I'm fine, Haru-chan… And you really shouldn't be making that face. Doesn't suit you." He ruffled her head one more time for the night before turning to head to his room, giving her a wave over his shoulder. "G'night, Haru-chan."

She didn't flinch irritably she he messed up her hair for what must have been the hundredth time that day, and her frown didn't disappear. She couldn't get his expression she had seen downstairs out of her mind… He had seemed to take Mitsuru's scolding pretty hard- and that slap couldn't have felt that great either. She called after him softly as he reached his door, turning the handle.

"Goodnight, Junpei…"

He didn't nod or give any sign that he heard her, but simply entered his room and closed the door behind him. She sighed heavily and climbed the stairs. At least they made it home safely… she could at least say that. She gloomily approached the third floor bathroom to clean up her knee before turning in for the night, beginning to regret this day- despite the good that came of it.


	6. May 5th, 2009

**Author's Note****: Thank you, thank you for the reviews! I'm glad people are liking the story thus far! Today's chapter was posted a bit later than normal… and it's also shorter… (boy, I really am alternating in length) but next chapter is going looking to be really fun to write. I'm starting to work on it now, so expect it in a few days! **

**Music Suggestion****: www . youtube . com/watch?v=6jQxDA3ubLY**

.~*~.

**May 5****th**

_Dear Diary,_

_ That strange boy visited me in my dreams again- I'm beginning to worry about the full moon in a couple days… I don't know what's going to happen. Should I trust this child? Somehow he seems… familiar…_

_ Oh, we went to visit Akihiko-senpai in the hospital the other day- Not that he's been staying there since he was hurt, but Junpei-kun had an errand to do, and Yukari-chan and I sort of tagged along. When we got to the hospital to meet up with him, this other guy was there instead- some tall, dark… angry guy. I didn't really catch his name._

_ Junpei invited me out again today…_

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Haruhi slid the door open from her classroom and stepped into the hall. She had picked through her lunch broodingly, not paying much attention to Yukari's conversation. Junpei had gotten up at the beginning of the lunch hour and left, not saying a word. He had been acting strange since their accidental Dark Hour excursion, still keeping up with his silly mannerisms, but always seeming a bit off. She couldn't put her finger on why exactly, but Haruhi felt like he was avoiding her when possible for some reason. She hadn't been able to get him on his own since that night, and she'd been meaning to talk to him about it.

With a heavy sigh, she turned to set off down the hall to wander for the remainder of the lunch hour… running smack into someone, face first. She clutched her nose after feeling it crunch against someone's sternum.

"Ahh! My nose!" She moaned, her eyes watering.

She heard a familiar chuckle and blinked blearily up at Junpei, who was grinning down at her. He brought a hand up and ruffled her hair,

"You oughta watch where you're walkin', Haru-chan!"

She was so relieved to grab yet another chance to talk to him, that she didn't even bother to shake his hand away. She smiled, continuing to hold her nose,

"Maybe you should do the same… You could have dodged."

"Ah ha… true." He raised a finger with a smirk. She rubbed her nose gingerly, feeling the sting begin to ebb as she looked up at him. There was an awkward pause in which Haruhi began to muster up the courage to strike up her needed conversation, but Junpei cut her off as she opened her mouth.

"So, uh… It feels kind of weird running into you in the hall like this…" He scratched his head slightly, "You free after school today?"

"Uh…" She stammered, taken aback. "Yes…"

He grinned, poking her gently in the forehead,

"Y'wanna go see a movie?"

She blinked up at him,

"…A movie?"

"What, you're not into movies?" He leaned back slightly, slipping his hands into his pockets; "You should see one once in awhile."

"Huh… I guess I just don't often get the chance to go… I don't think I've seen a movie in theaters for a couple years." She shrugged; still wrapping her head around the idea of being asked out to the movies with a person she deemed to be avoiding her.

"Well, I guarantee this one'll be good!" Junpei smirked momentarily before scratching the back of his head, "…I haven't seen it myself though."

Haruhi chuckled, shaking her head,

"Well… I suppose we can go."

Junpei grinned down at her with a nod,

"Sweet. After school, then?"

"Sure." She nodded with a smile.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

They arrived at Tatsumi Port Island station and made their way to the movie theater where a large poster displaying a burly man holding a ridiculously large gun was erected outside. Junpei's eyes immediately lit up upon spotting it.

"This is it!" He exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the poster, "'Double-Barreled Justice!' I've been looking forward to this coming out!"

Haruhi blinked at it, raising an eyebrow- the poster looked completely absurd.

"What… kind of movie is it?" She asked tentatively.

He turned around to face her, not sobered by her hesitant tone,

"In a nutshell… It's about fighting for what's right in a world gone mad." He smirked, "If I'm going to spend my cash to see a movie, I want it to kick major ass!"

She chuckled, shaking her head at him. He seemed to be back to his old self again, acting like an excited two year-old that one could really only find endearing at times.

"Well, we'd better go get some good seats."

"Yeah!" He crowed, thrusting a fist into the air. He rushed forward to pay for their tickets, leading the way inside immediately afterward to seat them in the front row.

Overall, Haruhi decided that the movie was okay. Seeing the action scenes on the big screen front row, center was pretty overwhelming… but the story was surprisingly complex. After the credits rolled, they got up to leave with the rest of the crowd, Junpei looking somewhat disappointed.

"That was… kinda not what I was expecting." He tilted his head to the side with a thoughtful tone, "The villain wasn't all that evil. It kinda killed it for me when he started talking about his tragic past… It isn't cool if you have to beat somebody who didn't want to be a bad guy."

"Oh I don't know, I thought it made him less two-dimensional and more believable as a character." Haruhi offered with a smile.

He chuckled, shaking his head,

"Huh uh. Bad guys should be evil all the way to the core. It's just more satisfying… Although…" He grinned impishly as he poked her in the forehead, causing her to wince, "I have to say, it was pretty satisfying seeing you tear up like that during his dying monologue. You were so cute, Haru-chan!"

She blushed, swatting his hand away.

"Oh come on… I'm not made of stone."

He laughed at her reaction, slipping his hands into his pockets with a smile,

"Hey, you've still got time, right? Let's grab something to eat on the way back."

She glanced up at him with a sheepish pout, hesitating on her answer. He chuckled, leaning forward with a singsong voice.

"My trea~t…"

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Haruhi sat in a booth at Wild-duck Burger while Junpei carried a tray with their meals upon it from the counter at the front. He set the tray into the middle of the table as he slid into the booth, sitting opposite her with a frown on his face.

"Aw, crap… The guys at school might say some stuff if they see us together." He glanced around for a few moments until his gaze rested upon Haruhi, who was staring at him questioningly.

"I mean, it looks like there's a lot of guys interested in you." He explained, unwrapping his burger, "Plus, the famous Yuka-tan and Mitsuru-senpai live in the same dorm, too. There are a lot of dudes who envy me because of that…" He sighed, trailing off.

Haruhi blinked at him, unwrapping her own burger.

"I'm… sorry?"

Junpei stopped mid-bite, looking at her face full of confused remorse and burst into laughter.

"Yeah, it's your fault!"

He seemed to cheer up for the moment, taking a bite out of his burger before continuing,

"…Actually, you don't seem to be all that interested in guys." He stated before swallowing the bit of food he'd been chewing. Haruhi simply stared at him, affronted. Did he just make a blatant guess at her sexuality? How rude! He seemed to understand the look she was giving him, causing him to chuckle nervously,

"I mean, you're not all excited and asking me who's saying all this stuff." He lifted a finger, trying once again to get his point across. Haruhi began to glare at him. He tugged at his shirt collar, chuckling again,

"I mean… of course you aren't. No girl would be that desperate."

Though Haruhi continued to seethe, taking a bite out of her burger, Junpei seemed pleased at this newly discovered fact and nodded triumphantly.

"Also," He continued, picking up a fry, "I know you've probably got your hands full with your own stuff right now." He paused momentarily, staring at the fry with a murmur, "Actually, the same goes for me, too…"

Haruhi watched his expression turn solemn, and her face contorted with a look of concern.

"Junpei…" She started, catching his attention again. His expression softened, looking at her.

"Hey, c'mon… What's that face for?" He smirked, popping the fry in his mouth.

"I've been meaning to get you alone to ask you something…" She trailed off, glancing down at the table to collect her thoughts.

Junpei grinned, leaning back in the booth with a smug look on his face,

"Ahhh… going to confess your love, Haru-chan? Is that why you're not chasing down other guys, because the one you want is seated right before you?" He drawled, amused with himself.

Haruhi's face lit up like a stoplight as she snapped, mortified at him,

"Wha-? Where are you getting your delusions?" Junpei howled with laughter, causing her to shout loudly over him, "Will you stop it? I'm trying to ask you a serious question, here!"

The few other patrons in the restaurant stopped to turn and look at them, causing Haruhi to sink slightly in her seat. When a few of the others turned away, she scowled sheepishly up at Junpei again, who was grinning, beside himself with amusement.

"I wanted to ask if you were okay…" She spoke softly, but loud enough so that he could hear her. His smile slipped as she continued, "We haven't really spoken since that night… and I've been getting the feeling that you've been avoiding me…"

She averted her gaze, her cheeks still glowing bright red with embarrassment. He couldn't help but smile gently with a sigh, shaking his head,

"I'm fine Haru-chan. You don't have to worry about me."

"But-" She started, but he cut her off, seeing that she wouldn't let him off that easily.

"I guess I just have issues with the low expectations given to me… But it's no big deal."

Haruhi noted how he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and averted his gaze. She gave him her brightest and most encouraging smile in hopes that he would understand the faith that she placed in him since that night,

"Don't worry, Junpei-kun… I know you'll prove them wrong… I mean, I have faith in you!"

He scoffed slightly, covering it up with a chuckle and speaking in a tone that Haruhi couldn't really catch the sincerity of,

"Well, if our fearless leader believes in me, then we should be alright, huh?"

She frowned, feeling slightly hurt and confused by his unreadable if not sarcastic tone. He seemed to pick up on this and smiled at her, pushing his package of fries towards her.

"Well… let's forget about that stuff. Want some fries?" He grinned friendlily at her, "You don't mind sharing with me, right?"

She flushed slightly with a meek nod, not altogether convinced that he was being straight with her, but accepted some of the fries offered to her with a tiny smile.

"Uh… s-sure."

Through the rest of their meal, she couldn't help but notice that something was terribly wrong… but he wasn't letting her in to help.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

After returning to the dorm, Junpei immediately went up to his room. With a gloomy sigh, Haruhi found herself heading up to her own room, turning in early for the night. Some leader she was turning out to be…

.~*~.


	7. May 10th, 2009

**Author's Note****: No reviews for that one, eh? Well, it really was just a mood set-up chapter for this one… Also, I apologize for the slightly longer than normal wait. I'd been unemployed since May and I'd finally landed a job last Wednesday! (Times are hard!) So that kept me busy and pretty tired most of the time. Plus it was my birthday weekend, so that kept me busy there too. Busy, busy, busy! I've been playing around with forum-based Persona themed RP to keep me motivated for this story for times when reviews are slim. So that's fun. And speaking of fun- writing this chapter was fun! So I hope that it makes up for the previous smaller chapter and longer wait! Enjoygohappy! 3**

**Music Suggestions****: Dark Hour/Command Room : www . youtube . com/watch?v=kWFeqQXqGug**

** Train Station/Aboard the Train : www . youtube . com/watch?v=R5Sm4kTOoBI**

** Boss Fight : www . youtube . com/watch?v=8ZmHAYsS3RM**

**May 10****th**

_Dear Diary,_

_ Junpei is an idiot! An IDIOT! I can't believe what he pulled on our first mission last night! Mitsuru had said that this enemy would be stronger than anything we've faced thus far, and he went off trying to show-off! He's such a jerk! I hate him. I HATE him!_

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

It was about fifteen minutes into the Dark Hour when she heard it- the shrill beeping sound that interrupted her gloomy thoughts. She had been sitting at her desk in the darkness, staring out the window up at the enlarged full moon, tinged with green. Her thoughts had been preoccupied with Junpei once again, as they had been for awhile now. Something was definitely wrong with him, but he'd never be straight with her. He hadn't been avoiding her so much anymore, but he still seemed somewhat more distant than before… before the night that they were caught out in the Dark Hour, to be exact.

Haruhi had been working on her leadership skills during their trips to Tartarus, and the group seemed to be growing stronger as a whole… Though during the Dark Hour was when Junpei was the most distant. He always seemed angrier in Tartarus, and took orders only begrudgingly… perhaps he was disappointed or losing patience in her hesitation? She was still learning too. The problem seemed to only be with her, for he seemed to have no problem acting normal around Yukari… but whatever issue he had with her, he wasn't giving her any answers and dodging any questions she sent his way on the matter.

But now, she was roused from her thoughts to the shrill beeping noises that seemed to resonate throughout the entire building. An emergency call beckoning her to the command room… She slipped on a sweater, scarf, skirt and leggings in the dark, slipping on her shoes as she grabbed her naginata and evoker- A good leader was always prepared, so she best bring them along.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

She arrived in the command room to find Mitsuru and Akihiko there- no doubt the ones who had sounded the alarm. Yukari and Junpei arrived shortly after she had, bursting through the door.

"We're here!" Yukari said, sounding somewhat out of breath.

"Where is it?" Junpei growled, gritting his teeth, "I'll rip it a new one!"

Haruhi flinched at his abrasive tone. He was sure on fire, but still so angry. Mitsuru turned to them from the large screen to address them all.

"We've detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus. We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one."

"Like the one that Akihiko-senpai had fought before…?" Haruhi glanced at him as she asked. Akihiko nodded grimly.

"Yeah. And no doubt a big one like that outside Tartarus is sure to cause some trouble."

"We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible." Mitsuru nodded at his comment, "Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half of the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs."

"In other words," Junpei gave a dark, arrogant smirk, "we need to kick its ass, right? Well, count me in!"

Yukari scoffed with a roll of her eyes,

"Junpei…"

Mitsuru turned to face Akihiko fully, a serious expression on her face.

"Akihiko, you stay here and wait for the Chairman."

Akihiko immediately snapped his head in her direction, glaring in rage,

"What?" He roared, "I'm going!"

Mitsuru fixed him with an icy glare of her own, teeming with authority.

"You still need to recover." She stated in a forceful tone, "You'll just be a hindrance."

"What?" He snarled, affronted.

She held up a hand to silence him,

"They'll fare better than you, in your current state." She spoke in a stern voice, but sighed, a hint of pleading poking into her voice, "Have faith in them, Akihiko… They're ready."

Akihiko turned to face the other three, looking them over with worry. His eyes rested on Haruhi for a moment before glancing away with a frustrated growl,

"Damn it…"

Haruhi's face creased with concern as she took a slight step toward him. She could see the disappointment in his current state, and the worry for the three of them in his eyes.

"Senpai…" She began gently, only to be cut off by Junpei.

"Relax!" He smirked again, "I've got it covered!"

Akihiko groaned slightly, his gaze flicking over to Junpei.

"I guess I have no choice…" His eyes slid back over to Haruhi, nodding to her. "Haruhi, you're in charge."

Mitsuru nodded at this as well.

"Yes. We're counting on you…"

"Her again…?" Junpei whined, staring in disbelief.

Haruhi glanced at everyone in turn before resting her gaze upon Mitsuru.

"Y-yes. I won't let you down." She had to prove that she was a capable leader.

A heavy sigh caught her attention, and she turned to face Junpei.

"Heh… Guess it's pretty much decided that you're our leader, huh…?" He spoke in a light voice… but his words fell heavy upon her heart. "Even when I'm the only guy in the group…"

Haruhi flinched inwardly,

_'He doesn't think I can do it…'_ She wasn't sure whether or not to feel hurt or just angry. She scowled darkly for a moment, knowing that she was going to have to work extra hard this night to prove that she was worthy of being their leader. Mitsuru gave her a quick glance before giving Junpei the iciest glare he'd received yet.

"Whether one is a man or a woman doesn't factor into it. The responsibility falls to those who have the gift. And let me add," She spoke in a commanding voice that lowered into dark, threatening tones. "if you ever say or do _anything_ to condescend to her because she's a woman…"

Junpei visibly paled, waving his hands apologetically in front of him as she shook his head.

"Oh, no, no no no! It's not like I look _down_ on her or anything…"

Still upset, and more or less beginning to finally understand just what his issue with her was, Haruhi glanced up at Mitsuru with a meek, appreciative smile. Mitsuru returned it in full confidence before addressing the three of them again.

"Now, you three should go on ahead of me. I'll have some preparations to make. We'll rendezvous in front of the train station."

"Got it." Haruhi nodded, turning to Yukari who had mostly been silent. "Let's go!"

"Right!" Yukari smiled brightly at her before turning and smacking Junpei upside the back of his head with an irritated snarl, "C'mon, 'Stupei.'"

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

And they did indeed rendezvous outside the train station. Mitsuru had arrived shortly after they did on her motorcycle that was specifically altered to run during the Dark Hour. She parked it in front of them and pulled off her helmet, shaking her hair out before fixing them with an intense stare as she dismounted.

"Listen carefully. Tonight, I'll be providing support from here- Everything else is the same. The Shadow is currently located inside the monorail, not far from the station. To get there, you'll have to walk on the tracks."

"Seriously?" Yukari objected, "Isn't that dangerous…?"

Junpei laughed aloud, slinging a friendly arm around Haruhi's shoulders, causing her to jump in surprise. "Haha! Nothin' that we can't handle, right, Haru-chan? We're veterans."

Haruhi frowned momentarily as his hand clutched her shoulder, just the way it used to before when he wasn't acting so differently towards her. She shrugged him off gently with a light scowl upon her face, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Junpei, who immediately deflated.

A part of her knew that this was the first time that Junpei had willingly brought up the subject of their Dark Hour excursion on his own, but did he really have the nerve to think that he could treat her the way he did and then turn around and act as if nothing had happened like that? She didn't want to keep this wall up between them when he had made a step to taking it down, but she refused to let him treat her this way without a proper apology. She took a step forward away from him and turned to Yukari.

"Well… Let's get going. Stay together in the station… it's pretty dark in there."

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

They managed to navigate through the dark station together and climb up onto the tracks. Yukari and Haruhi stuck together like glue, side by side, while Junpei followed closely behind.

"It's so dark and quiet in here… I don't like it." Yukari whispered, her voice tight.

"I know… but we're getting closer to the end of the tunnel, see?" Haruhi pointed in the darkness toward a faint green light. "It's less scary when we're outside… sort of."

In a matter of minutes, they were outside, several miles above the sea, its waters dyed green by the eerie light of the moon. Yukari gasped slightly, looking down. There was no wind during the Dark Hour, but just looking down from so high above made her feeling tippy and she clutched onto Haruhi's arm, who grasped it in return out of instinct.

"Haha… And to think this is actually my favorite part of the ride to school…" Yukari chuckled nervously.

"It's okay, Yukari." Haruhi smiled, giving her arm an encouraging squeeze. "The tracks are actually really wide, see?"

Glancing down at the tracks, Yukari realized this to be true. The tracks were indeed comfortably wide and covered, so though they could still trip on the rails, at least they wouldn't risk a terrible break by their foot falling through.

"We'd better hurry." Haruhi spoke quietly, squinting in the distance to see the train stopped on the tracks ahead of them. "The train's right up there… let's run."

Despite Yukari's quiet grown, Junpei smirked with a chuckle.

"Alright! Now you're talkin'!"

Haruhi couldn't help but grant him a small smile from over her shoulder before starting off toward the train at a dash, Junpei following after and Yukari scrambling to follow as well. Haruhi giggled, hearing Yukari's nervous cries as they all ran in single file, shouting over her shoulder.

"Just stop looking down, Yukari!"

They arrived at the stopped train in little time and decided to wait outside for a moment to catch their breath.

"Phew…" Haruhi wiped her brow with her free hand, her other still clutching her naginata. "So how do we get inside…?"

Before any of them could answer, they each heard a shrill beeping sound, followed by Mitsuru's voice.

"Can you all hear me?"

"Yes," Haruhi answered, covering an ear to hear her clearer. "We just got here, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary…"

"The readings are definitely coming from that monorail. Proceed with caution and stay together." Mitsuru's voice commanded.

"Alright." Haruhi replied with a nod.

"Heheh," Junpei chuckled with a determined smirk, "my Persona's just _beggin'_ to be used!"

Rolling her eyes at him, Yukari took a few steps toward the train.

"Hmmm…" She murmured as she spotted a short ladder that led to an open door. "Looks like that's our way in. Shall we?"

With a grin, Yukari swung a leg up onto the ladder, climbing up into the back car of the train. Haruhi smiled, following in her example. As she pulled herself up into the car, she turned around with a lofty voice.

"Are you coming or what, Jun-" She paused, seeing him standing in the same spot several feet from the ladder, his face red with a smug, goofy grin on his face as if he had just witnessed some incredible, secret event that he would take to the grave. "Wha- Why is your face like that…?"

He cleared his throat, glancing away,

"Aw, nothin'." He scratched the side of his nose; his cheeks stilled tinged a scarlet hue.

Haruhi fixed him with a glare that would have made Mitsuru beam with pride.

"Well stop goofing around and get up here. You heard Mitsuru- we have to stay together."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" He replied, still smirking somewhat. Haruhi had been mostly in the way when Yukari had climbed up… but unbeknownst to her, Junpei had gotten an accidental, but decent look up her skirt when she herself had climbed up the ladder. Sure, she was wearing leggings, but it still counted.

His impish grin dissolved from his face upon entering the car, however, seeing coffin-like objects erected where passengers may have been had it not been the Dark Hour. He walked past the girls to stand before it.

"This poor stiff must be a passenger…" He reached out to touch the coffin, when a mechanical hiss broke through the dead silence of the night. They all gasped, whirling around to witness all the doors to exit the train closing tightly.

Haruhi gasped in alarm as Yukari lurched forward to try and find a way to open it, but to no avail. Noticing something out of order, Mitsuru's demanding voice was heard,

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Yukari tried one more desperate pull on the door before backing away.

"It looks like we're trapped inside."

"It must be the Shadow…" Mitsuru's voice sounded slightly shaken. "It knows your there. Be ready for _anything,_ and proceed with extreme caution!"

"R-right…" Haruhi nodded, turning to the others. "Let's start moving."

They both nodded, gripping their weapons as they started to venture through the first car as a group. They made it into the next car, only to find it just as empty of movement as the first. As they made their way through it, Junpei grumbled irritably,

"What the hell…? I don't see any Shadows."

As they entered the third car from the back, Yukari shivered, glancing around.

"It's so creepy…"

"And quiet…" Haruhi added. Junpei growled again, stepping in front of them.

"There's nothing here… Where the hell is it?"

As if on cue, a Shadow seemed to drop down from the ceiling. It wore a more elaborate mask with a horned tiara on its head, its shadowy tentacles waving back and forth as it floated a few feet off the floor. Yukari gasped, taking a step backward. Haruhi froze in place, glaring at it as Junpei gripped his katana, baring his teeth with a shout.

"There it is!"

The creature seemed to giggle at them, turning around to float lazily away, enticing them to follow. As it passed through the doors to the next car, Junpei roared, taking a step forward.

"Hey, get back here!"

"Wait!" Mitsuru's voice rang out. "Something's not right… The enemy is acting strangely."

"But if we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it!" Junpei shouted angrily.

They could hear Mitsuru sigh before continuing.

"Well, it's not my decision to make. Haruhi, you're in command there." Her voice made Junpei grit his teeth angrily. "What do you think?"

Haruhi paused, scowling at the floor. After a few long moments, she lifted her head to speak in a determined voice.

"We need to be cautious. It looked like it _wanted_ us to follow it… it might be trying to lead us into a trap."

She could hear Mitsuru sigh in relief.

"I agree." A proud smile could be heard in her voice. "It would be foolish to blindly chase after it."

Junpei stood still and rigid with his back turned to them… but as Haruhi watched him, she could see his body begin to tremble… Was he afraid… or…

"…Fine." His voice caused her to jump. It was low, and it sounded like he was barely keeping his rage in check… but why was he once again so angry? "I'll go by myself."

"What?" Yukari exclaimed.

"You guys can just stay back here and watch me beat it all by myself!" He snapped, still facing away from them. He began to take a step towards the next car, when Haruhi lurched forward to grasp at his arm.

"No!" She ordered crossly. "We have to stay togeth-"

But she was cut off with her own gasp as Junpei jerked his arm violently from hers, whirling on the spot to give her the fiercest glare she had ever seen upon his face… and the shock of it struck her as if she had been slapped across the face.

"Y'know what, I don't care!" He snarled, clenching his fists so hard that the hand holding the katana shook angrily. "_I_ was more of a leader than _you_ were that night, Haruhi, yet _I'm_ always the one getting looked down upon! _I_ was the one who suggested almost _every_ move we made to get back home safely when _you_ couldn't come up with _anything!_ And _I _was the one who saved _your_ ass against those freaks when _you_ were helpless! _I_ led the way and _I_ kept you safe _every_ step of the way, but do I get any recognition? _No!_ "

Haruhi froze in place, wide-eyed as his words stabbed her in the heart.

"Well, I'm tired of it!" He continued shouting in rage as he turned again to face the door ahead of them. "You two can stay back here and 'think on it' all you want, but _I'm_ gonna go ahead and be a _real_ leader."

And with that, he dashed forward to disappear into the car ahead.

"Junpei!" Yukari called after him, "Wait!"

But he was already long gone. She turned slowly to look at Haruhi who was still rooted to the spot and looking as if she were about to cry. Yukari was about to say something to comfort her, but both of them jumped in alarm at Mitsuru's voice, filled with desperate concern.

"Watch out! Behind you!"

Yukari looked behind Haruhi to see two Shadows spring forward. Haruhi seemed to use this chance to get better hold over her emotions and whirled around with an angry growl, the few tears that escaped her eyes, flying from her face in the movement. She screamed in anguish as she yanked her Evoker from its holster and thrust it against her temple, pulling the trigger with no hesitation.

Orpheus came to her, shining and magnificent. Her fires angrily scorched the creatures until they dissolved into a sticky, shadowy blackness that slowly evaporated into the floor.

Yukari watched her friend and leader fight in concern, knowing that Junpei's words had stung and still searching for the words that would make her feel better.

"This…" Haruhi's low growl interrupted her thoughts, "…is _just_ what the enemy wanted…"

"We have no choice." Mitsuru's voice sighed heavily. "You have to go after him, or you'll be picked off one by one."

"Alright." Haruhi spoke again in a fierce voice. "Let's get moving."

Yukari sighed as Haruhi dashed forward and followed after her.

_'Damn it, 'Stupei…''_ She thought with a frown, watching Haruhi ahead of her, _'What are you thinking?'_

As they ran forward into the next car, Mitsuru's voice informed them that Junpei was only a few cars ahead of them… but getting there was posing to be a bit of a problem. Every step of the way, there were more groups of Shadows stalling them, trying to keep their group split up.

Car after car, they sliced and blasted their way through small groups of shadows until they reached the fourth passenger car from the front. There they found Junpei surrounded by Shadows, swinging and flailing round and round at each of them.

"Junpei!" Yukari screamed in alarm. It didn't look good- they would overpower him soon.

Sparing a glance backward to spot them, Junpei snarled angrily back,

"I've got it under control!"

Baring her teeth angrily, Haruhi barked an order at Yukari as she gripped her naginata.

"Yukari! Get ready!"

"Right!"

The two of them rushed into the battle, blocking a few blows to distract a few of the Shadows from Junpei, alerting them that they had more foes to deal with now. They were soon able to herd the Shadows into the middle, creating a perimeter around them. Now they had the upper hand, surrounding them.

"Orpheus!" Haruhi roared, summoning her Persona. Orpheus's flames cut through a Shadow that merely looked to be nothing more than a hand, suspended and wriggling in the air. It immediately fell, curling up into itself until it dissolved into nothingness.

Junpei took out his frustrated aggression on another floating Shadow, this one having a tome rotating above its head. He swung at it several times with his katana, beating it severely and slicing it to ribbons. The creature didn't last long under Junpei's wrathful siege, and it too fell twitching to the floor, dissolving.

Yukari pressed her Evoker to her forehead, flinching as she pulled the trigger to summon her Persona.

"Io! Garu!"

Green colored winds enveloped the remaining Shadow, merely shaped like a black cross, sticking out of the ground. It seemed to not be able to handle such an attack, and quickly melted away into a puddle on the floor to disappear.

When the battle was over, Haruhi and Yukari stared at Junpei, who was hunched over, trying to catch his breath.

"You see? That's what happens when you don't listen!" Yukari snapped at him, slipping her bow onto her back and folding her arms over her chest.

Junpei looked up, glaring daggers at Yukari.

"I was doin' just fine…!"

"Excuse me?" Haruhi erupted in rage. "It looked like you were having trouble there to me! Just stop being such a stubborn jerk and admit that you were wrong!"

"I wasn't wrong!" He stepped forward, shouting back at her. "I was taking action, which is more than what I can say for you! Once again, _you_ were just following in the wake of my decisions!"

She clenched her fists and took a step forward and stood on her tip toes to get in his face, screaming.

"Because you ran off on your own! How can you not see that as a stupid plan, you idiot? You could have been killed!"

"I already told you-" He started to yell back, but was cut off by the floor lurching beneath them, causing Haruhi to topple off balance and be thrown against Junpei's chest. He caught her in alarm, his eyes growing wide as the train began to move forward at a steady pace.

"Whoa, what the?" He glanced around in shock, still holding onto Haruhi to keep her in place. "…Why are we moving?"

"No…" They barely heard Mitsuru's voice over the sound of the train as it began to pick up speed. "The monorail is under the enemy's control…"

"Uh… This doesn't look good." Junpei absent-mindedly gripped Haruhi tighter, who had been in a small state of shock- both from the movement and the sudden accidental 'hug' she was receiving. Now, she shook herself out of it and shrugged him off of her with a scowl.

"Mitsuru-senpai! We're gaining speed!" Haruhi called.

Mitsuru now shouted to be heard over the noise of the train.

"…If we can't stop that thing, it'll crash into another train!"

The three of them stared at each other in alarm.

"WHAT?" Yukari gasped in panic, "Oh, God! What are we gonna do?"

"Calm down and listen!" Mitsuru shouted, "I sense a strong presence in the front car- That must be the one we're after. You'll have to defeat it to stop the train!"

The group took a few steps forward, only to have their way blocked by two Shadows appearing from the wall ahead of them. They were two more of the disembodied hand types.

"What kind of messed up ride _is_ this!" Junpei stared at them, shakily gripping his katana with both hands. Yukari pulled her bow from her back, getting an arrow ready as Haruhi glared at them.

_ 'Orpheus' Agi spell tore through that hand earlier… meaning that fire must be their weakness…' _She growled and pressed her Evoker to her temple, shouting angrily.

"GET OUT OF OUR WAY!"

With the pull of the trigger and the sound of shattering glass, Orpheus was once again the last thing that the Shadows would see, save for her ravaging fire that engulfed them. They both fell to the floor, twitching and writhing as they disappeared. Mitsuru's voice boomed in their ears immediately after their short victory.

"You don't have much time! Run!"

Her order acted as a starting pistol, each of them taking off sprinting through the door into the next car. Car after car they sped through, slicing down all Shadows in their path, until they stood before the door to the first car, where the conductor would normally be. Panting, they stared at the door, knowing what must dwell behind it.

"Your primary target is up ahead… Are you ready?" Mitsuru's voice echoed around them. Haruhi's hand lay gently upon the control that would open the door as she looked over her shoulder at Junpei and Yukari. They each looked her straight in the eyes with a determined nod that she returned, turning back to open the door.

"Let's go."

The creature behind it was nothing like anything they'd ever seen. It looked like a very tall, slender woman whose height took up the entire car in her seated form. She was garbed only in a long sheet which was wrapped around her waist, covering her legs-one white, one black, sprawled at a wanton ninety degree angle. This left her chest bare to display her odd skin coloration. She was like a painted clown doll, half of her paper white, the other half the inkiest black. Her face was hidden from view behind a magenta colored flower shaped mask, her hair erupting from her head behind it in long, twisting and writhing ribbons- half black, half white and evenly distributed so, on their respective side.

"There it is…!" Junpei growled, staring up at it in disbelief, "What the hell…? Is this the friggin' boss?"

"We're in the front car; it's gotta be!" Yukari shouted, pulling an arrow through her bow.

"You don't have time for chatter!" Mitsuru's voice reprimanded them, "Hurry!"

Haruhi let out a roar and she thrust her Evoker to her head, pulling the trigger. Orpheus sent his flames spiraling towards the Shadow, who raised a slim and dainty hand in defense. As the fire struck her wrist, she cried out in a distant, eerie voice. Though they could not see her eyes, the Shadow seemed to look down to inspect her burnt hand with a slight whimper for a moment before looking back up at them with a high pitched growl. The train around them shook as two tiara-clad, tentacle-like Shadow minions ascended from the floor, heeding her call.

"Damn it!" Junpei growled, "She's called more of them!"

"Haruhi." Mitsuru's voice sounded in her ears, "Those minions are weak against ice."

"Right!" Haruhi nodded, gritting her teeth. "I'll take care of them. Junpei! Yukari! Attack the big one!"

"Got it!" They shouted in unison, beginning their siege. Junpei sprinted forward, katana tightly gripped in both hands as Yukari pulled her bowstring back, ready to release her arrow.

Haruhi closed her eyes, searching her heart for another presence… another Persona- Another that she had felt and allowed to dwell within her. She searched, feeling for it… and once she felt her psyche grasp a hold of it, her eyes snapped open. She thrust the Evoker to her head once more and called out its name.

"Apsarus!" Pulling the trigger, she was greeted with the sound of shattering glass, Apsarus erupting from her very soul, beautiful and elegant. She smiled at the glowing blue Persona before giving it a firm order. "Bufu."

Apsarus bowed gracefully to her before gliding toward the two minions, sending sheets of ice hurtling toward them. They were each knocked out of the air, writhing on the ground in frozen pain.

"Alright!" She shouted enthusiastically, "One more oughta do it!"

Another ice spell from Apsarus and the minions were no more. No sooner than they had disappeared in defeat, did Haruhi hear a shriek of terror and an angry shout.

"Aahh! N-no!"

"Get your hands off her!"

Gasping, Haruhi turned to see Yukari being held by the neck several feet from the floor and near the ceiling- which made her notice that the entire car seemed to have warped in size, making it seem so much larger than it would have outside the Dark Hour… or even this battle against this foe. Junpei was trying to slash at the ribbon like hair strands that were holding Yukari captive so high above, but could not reach them. With an angry growl, he turned and plunged his blade into one of her legs, earning a pained shriek from the Shadow and causing her to whip Yukari around in a frenzy.

"No! Yukari!" Haruhi shrieked, trying to run forward to help her, but with another wave of her uninjured hand, the Shadow summoned two more minions to appear in her way. She skidded to a stop, glaring angrily at them. With a loud cracking sound, she saw Junpei receive a hard kick across the face, sending him flying backward. She gasped, gritting her teeth as she took in the situation.

_'She's going to just summon more each time I knock them down… and it'll take too much time to keep killing them…'_ She gritted her teeth, her forehead beginning to sweat. _'I'll just… I'll just knock them down and plow my way through!'_

"It's the only way!" She roared aloud, shoving her Evoker to the side of her head again, "Apsarus, Bufu!"

As Haruhi sprinted forward, Apsarus froze the enemies in place to allow her safe passage through. "Now, Orpheus, burn her!"

She easily connected with Orpheus again, summoning him with her Evoker as she ran. Orpheus' fire engulfed the Shadow's body, causing her to shriek in pain, writhing. She shouted up at her captive friend, who had been reaching shakily behind her for another arrow.

"Yukari!"

"I-I got it!" She strained to shout, the ribbons tightening their grip around her chest and neck- she had been lucky in a way to have her arms unbound. She pulled the arrow back, aiming the best she could in her current state, and released with a strangled gasp. The arrow hit straight and true in the center of the Shadow's chest as the flames were beginning to die down. The creature let out a sharp cry, slowly looking down at her chest to see the arrow protruding from it.

Haruhi dashed forward angrily and leaped, slicing at her diagonally beneath the arrow wound to leave a long, deep cut with her naginata. She whipped her head around and shouted.

"Junpei!"

He had already been running forward again and leapt as high as he possibly could with a roar and a swing of his katana at her neck, severing the Shadow's head from her body. He landed behind it, rolling to a stop so that he could turn around and thrust the sword through the center of her back, making the final blow. The severed head let out a distant, echoing shriek as it fell, hitting the ground along with Yukari. As soon as it landed, the car's size returned to normal and the Shadow's body slumped, both its parts beginning to dissolve away and freeing Yukari from its grasp. She sat up shakily, clutching her throat as she gasped for air, but other than that, nobody moved or said a word for a few moments until Junpei spoke in an almost trembling voice.

"D-Did we make it in time…?" He drew in a shaky breath as he glanced out the window to receive another shock. "Hey! Why're we still moving?"

Yukari's head snapped up to stare at him, still clutching her throat.

"N-No… We-we're going to fast…!" She struggled to speak, "We h-have to put on the breaks… o-or…"

"What are you waiting for!" Mitsuru's frantic voice screamed, "There's a train up ahead!"

Junpei scrambled up to the controls, his eyes leaping from one this to another in panic.

"D-Damn it! I don't know how to stop this thing!" He shouted frantically.

With a barely audible squeak, Haruhi lurched forward, sprinting to the control panel as well.

'Which is the brake…? Which is the brake?' She screamed inside her head. Suddenly her eyes fell upon a long lever from the floor and she immediately grappled it, pulling it back as hard as she could.

"H-He-Help me!" She shrieked, getting Junpei's attention. His wide eyes snapped to her and he immediately rushed to stand behind her, pulling on the lever as well. With their combined force, the train soon came to a screeching halt.

Slowly, the two holding the lever opened their eyes that they had squeezed closed.

"D-Did we stop…?" Junpei asked shakily.

"I-I think so…" Yukari answered from behind them, getting to her feet in a fashion that made her resemble a new fawn. She laughed as she staggered forward, "Ha, haha… My knees are shaking…"

Finally letting go of the lever, Junpei stepped back, taking off his hat to wipe his forehead.

"Dude… I'm like drenched in sweat…" He tried to laugh too for a moment before glancing back at Haruhi, who was still clinging to the lever, trembling. "Hey… are you okay, Haru-chan?"

Haruhi didn't seem to hear him, or anything except for the pounding of her heart in her ears. Her eyes were still wide open and focused out the front window at the train that they that almost hit.

_'It looks so close… A few more seconds and… Oh, God… We could have died…'_

Junpei stepped closer to her, placing a hand softly upon her shoulder from behind.

"Hey…" He spoke gently. Upon feeling his faint touch, she had snapped out of her inner trance, allowing her emotions to fully surface. She sank slowly to the ground, still trembling as her breathing became hitched in her throat and ragged.

"I was scared…" Her voice broke, wavering as the first of several tears to come began to fall freely from her face. "I was so scared…!"

A look of fear washed over Junpei's face as he rushed around to her front to kneel in front of her.

"Oh crap… Hey, hey, don't cry!" He didn't know what to do! He shoved his hands into his pockets, desperate for something to help. "Where'd I put my handkerchief…!"

Finding nothing, he could only resort to stare at his friend who was sobbing her heart out into her hands in front of him. He felt something crack and break of shame inside of him, and a look of deep remorse and pity spread across his face. He slowly brought a hand up to gently touch her face, as if she were something breakable, murmuring in a pained voice.

"Haruhi…"

He had barely touched her skin when she slapped his hand away, continuing to weep.

"D-Don't…" She let out another heavy sob, "Don't t-touch me… Junpei…"

Junpei recoiled, pulling his hand back as if it had been burnt. He stared at her in shock and worsening guilt as Yukari knelt behind her to wrap her arms around her- something that he really wished that _he_ could do… but couldn't. He knew why she rejected his comfort… this was mostly his fault. He hadn't followed her orders… he had treated her so indifferently… he hadn't had faith in her as a leader… he had said those hurtful things to her in anger.

He turned away so that his back faced them, hearing Yukari's voice coo soothingly as she swayed back and forth, rocking her somewhat.

"It's okay, Haruhi… I'm here... I'm here."

He bit his lower lip bitterly, pulling his hat down in an attempt to hide his shame.

_'I'm here too… I'm here…_' He hissed inwardly. But he knew… he could feel it in his very bones as he heard Haruhi's sobs continue behind him… he had messed up.


	8. June 1st, 2009

**Author's Note****: Phew! It's been a long time! I'm so sorry for the wait, and I hope that you really like the next two chapters! Another good one is coming up! Thank you so much for all of the reviews and subscriptions! Each one was another little push to get this chapter out, and I'm already working on the next one too! So Happy Late Holidays, everyone! A shorter, but happier chapter for you all! (Mainly a set-up for the next chapter… hope you like it anyway!**

**Music Suggestion****: www . youtube . com/watch?v=KC1hnFSp2DQ**

.~*~.

**June 1st**

_Dear Diary,_

_There have been a lot of funny rumors flying around school lately… Ghost stories. It would sound silly to me normally, but what if Shadows are involved? Akihiko-senpai thinks that the rumors are something that should be looked into, so there must be something going on. Akihiko-senpai's really smart… and he's really nice too. We've started hanging out recently and it's been fun!_

_ It's been almost a month since the last full moon and I still haven't spoken to Junpei. Well, not for his lack of trying… but I've been avoiding him. Though he did corner me today…_

_.~*~.

* * *

_

.~*~.

Haruhi sighed with a weary smile. It had been her turn for classroom cleaning duties this afternoon, and she had just finished. The sun was low in the sky, filling the halls and entryway with a deep orange glow as she descended the stairs, making her way toward the lockers.

As she reached her locker, someone stepped out from behind the end of the row and moved to stand next to her. Someone who was a bit taller than her… and wearing a stupid hat that she would recognize anywhere and a painfully out of character somber expression. With a brief light scowl, she turned and gave her undivided attention to the task of retrieving her shoes from her locker.

He stood silently, just staring at her as she slipped out of her school slippers in and into her loafers. With only the empty silence of the entrance hall broken by the scuffing of her shoes to distract her from his obvious gaze, Haruhi quickly found herself growing agitated. Finally, she deposited her slippers into her locker and closed it with a slam.

"_What_, Junpei?" She snarled, whipping her head in his direction.

Despite his gloomy mood, Junpei couldn't help but smirk weakly at getting a rise out of her. He squashed the urge to ruffle her hair and leaned against the lockers, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"Heh… At least you said something…" He murmured, trying his luck at a winning smile. With a grumble Haruhi strode past him, feeling even more irritated when he followed, falling into step beside her. "C'mon, Haru-chan, you can't ignore me forever."

"Really? That happens to be my goal."

With a determined glare, he stepped in front of her to block her path.

"Come _on_, why won't you even let me apologize? I feel awful!" He frowned down at her. She simply averted her gaze moodily and moved to step around him, managing three paces away from him before she felt his hand close around her wrist. She immediately whirled around, her eyes alight with anger.

"Don't you get it?" She snarled, "I don't care! I _want_ you to feel awful! Don't you have any idea how you made me _feel_? I thought you were my friend, Junpei! You really hurt- ...You said all of those- ...You're terrible! You could have _died!_ You could have gotten us all _killed!_"

"I'm sorry!" He shouted desperately down at her, still clinging onto her wrist as if he were afraid she'd try to shake him off. "I was an idiot! I was a jerk! I was a self-absorbed piece of scum! I know I shouldn't have said those things and I know I shouldn't have run off! I messed up, and I'm sorry, Haruhi."

The sound of her name with his panicked voice made her face soften slightly.

"Tell me what you want me to say, and I'll say it. Tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it! I just can't take not being your friend."

He felt her begin to pull away and strengthened his grip on her wrist in one last desperate attempt.

"Let me buy you dinner. We need to discuss those rumors about that ghost anyway, right? Please, Haruhi…"

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Haruhi soon found herself sitting opposite Junpei at Wakatsu Restaurant, located in the Iwatodai strip mall. They had both ordered large beef platters and were busy savoring the flavor of the seasoning. The quality of the food was good and was putting Haruhi in a better mood.

"So," Haruhi set her chopsticks down, "have you heard anything about those rumors yet? I've only gotten a chance to talk to the other student I was doing classroom duties with this afternoon, and _she_ said that this wasn't the first time that someone was found unconscious outside the school- It was the third time."

"Huh?" Junpei looked up mid-bite, setting his food down again. "I guess that is kind of suspicious."

"Well, what have you found out?" Haruhi asked earnestly, picking up her chopsticks again, deciding which delicious piece of beef or vegetable she was going to eat next.

Junpei chuckled, picking his food up again to take a bite,

"Who, me? Ah, I'm not gonna bother with that stuff. Leave that to Yuka-tan."

Haruhi choked momentarily on a bell pepper at this. After taking a large gulp of water, she glared angrily at a now amused Junpei.

"You aren't even going to try asking around for information! You lazy little-"

"Aw, c'mon. They're just rumors." He grinned, taking another bite of beef.

"You said we were coming here to _discuss_ these rumors!" She fixed him with an incredulous, irritated stare.

Junpei swallowed, smirking.

"Eh, I only said that so you would come out with me. You've been a hard girl to talk to this past month, Haru-chan."

His face was slightly smug, but his voice was light and apologetic in a way which quelled her desire to start shouting at him. Instead, she simply scowled down at her platter as she stabbed another piece of beef with her chopsticks.

"Well… I still haven't forgiven you for what you said to me."

"You really should…"

She glanced up from her plate to see him gazing at her carefully, a sad, half smile twitching upon his face.

"I'm really sorry, Haru-chan. I mean it."

Haruhi stared back down at her plate, unwilling to look at him while he spoke to her.

"I guess, I was just jealous… and a bit misogynistic." He smirked sadly, his eyes dropping to his own plate briefly before glancing back up at her. "I guess with me being the only guy in the group before Akihiko came back got me thinking that I should be in charge to protect you and Yuka-tan. And it seemed like everything was coming so easy to you… the recognition… leadership…"

Her eyes shot up to his, fiery. She opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off before a single word was uttered.

"I know this isn't true. You work harder than the rest of us, especially hard to prove yourself. I think I've always known it too… but I let myself get wrapped up in my own self-pity that I just forgot it… I know that doesn't make it right. But…"

He fixed her with a serious, pleading look.

"Haruhi… I'm really sorry."

She frowned, averting her gaze again.

"I know you are… But I can't pretend that you didn't hit me where it hurts."

"I know…" He replied desperately, "You don't have to forgive me right away, but I'll make it up to you. I'll make it better, I promise."

He chanced a small smile that she couldn't help but reciprocate.

"I've really missed being your friend." He said, his smile growing.

"Me too."

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

As they ate their meals, things seemed to slowly begin falling back into the way they were before, and with an amazing feat of endurance they had each finished their platters, sides and desserts within the hour. With a great, satisfied sigh, Junpei leaned back in his seat.

"That was great… I can't eat anymore." He chuckled, glancing across the table at Haruhi, who was dabbing her face with a napkin. "But man, you ate a lot too. You ordered the same stuff as me, right? How in the world did all of that fit inside your thin little body…?"

Haruhi felt her face light up like a stop light as heat rushed to her cheeks. She averted her eyes from his impressed stare and scowled slightly.

"Wh-what! What kind of question is that!"

He laughed out loud a little before continuing,

"Remember how I told you that one time that there are guys that're interested in you? I bet they'd be shocked if they saw how much _you_ can eat."

She scowled as he winked at her. Snatching up her glass of water to take a sip.

"Meh, like I care."

He smirked at her with a nod.

"Yeah, you got a point. Worrying about stuff like that'll just ruin the good food you're eating." Saying this seemed to lighten her scowl on her face, so he smiled and continued, "Also, you seem happy when you're eating. It makes me feel good watching you."

Haruhi flushed again, snapping her eyes to his. He laughed happily at her reaction, picking up his own glass of water to finish what was left of it.

.~*~.

* * *

.~*~.

Late that night, Haruhi laid awake in her bed, staring up at the ceiling in the dark. Today had gone alright, she guessed. As much as a more stubborn part of her hated to admit it, she really had missed Junpei… at least a little bit, anyway. With a smile, she turned over to face the rest of her room… only to meet a pair of eyes of brightest blue. Eyes that seemed to almost glow in the moonlight. Eyes that belonged to a very mysterious, albeit familiar boy. She yelped aloud, bolting upright in her bed.

"Good evening." The boy giggled, "I came to see you again as I promised. How are you?"

Clutching her heart, Haruhi steadied her breathing before answering.

"I'm… I'm alright… I guess… But could you give me more of a warning next time you visit?" She sighed, shifting to sit in a more comfortable position. The boy giggled again- an eerie, unnerving giggle, though it didn't hold a shred of malicious intent.

"I'm glad you remembered me." He smiled at her, pausing for a long uncomfortable moment. Haruhi blinked at him for a moment before nodding in response.

"Well… you're kind of hard to forget…" She stated, trailing off rather lamely.

"I've come to tell you…" He shifted closer to her, his eyes shining earnestly, "In another week, the moon will be full again… and the next ordeal will be upon you. So be very careful."

Haruhi stared unblinkingly at him. This warning sounded slightly familiar.

"The moon will be full… again…? Do you mean-" But she was cut off by her own gasp as the boy disappeared from in front of her and reappeared at her door. She could still see his blue eyes glinting at her from the darkness.

"…I'll come again."

With another gasp, she whipped the covers off of her, stretching out an arm as she lurched out of bed.

"Wait! Tell me what's going to happen! What ordeal! Is it going to be like the last full moon!"

...But it was no use…the boy had already gone.


	9. Author's Note: ApologyReturnTrailer

Hello, readers!

I'm so sorry for the long, long wait. I wanted to let everyone know that I'd like to try picking this story up again! I've been working on the next chapter and it's nearly finished... and while you wait for that, I thought I'd make you a trailer.

Feel free to wait it here, on Youtube:

http: / www . youtube . com / watch?v=uXm-hG_G_6A ((delete spaces in url))

Thanks for reading, and I hope that you'll enjoy what comes next!


End file.
